D.C. Shorts, the annual film festival devoted to short-form programming, announced earlier today what its founder hopes will be the first of several fundraising efforts to finance the 10th edition of the series in the fall of 2012.

The festival’s parent organization, the D.C. Film Alliance, received a $12,000 grant from the D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities to pay for the event, a significant drop from last year, when the group received $33,000 in total aid from the city. Jon Gann, who runs the Film Alliance and D.C. Shorts, says he doesn’t think he’ll be able to make up the entire $21,000 difference, but that he can at least try to get close.

Gann also received an Individual Artist Grant for 2012 to fund a film consulting practice he runs on the side.

“This is the first part of bridging the gap,” Gann says of the campaign announced today that is seeking to haul in $5,000 between now and the end of January. Gann says he’s angling for low-dollar donations, calling it a “micro-financing” effort that utilizes payment systems managed by Google, Amazon and PayPal. On its fundraising page, the Film Alliance has buttons for donations of $1, $5 and anything above.

The notion of raising a specific amount in a limited period is similar to the Kickstarter model, in which groups and individuals seeking project funding have a window to raise a set amount, with the donations being returned if the applicant fails to meet or exceed the bar. Bypassing Kickstarter allows Gann to avoid that trapdoor effect.

Even though there will be “some belt-tightening,” Gann says, participants and fans of D.C. Shorts have “no reason to freak out.” There are no intentions of shrinking the festival, which this year included 145 films over 11 days.