Well, we should still have something in place. We dont NEED to ask foundations to give us money, but if we do, the money will be going to good use. If you don't want to ask an education-related-fund, I think this would much more relevant to something like the FSF. Do they give grants?
I don't think asking for donations is the way to go once a non-profit is in place. The US is full of foundations that are happy to throw money at half-baked proposals vaguely related to education. Pretty much every billionaire sets up a foundation like that. You just write a grant proposal and wait for the money to come in. Lots of people in academia make their living that way. And we are talking at least an order of magnitude higher than your figure above.
Axel
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