I don't imagine this would be a problem. The Wikimedia Foundation is a charity registered in Florida, and Wikimedia UK is, as you say, on its way to becoming a charity soon. Having said this, I imagine (with absolutely no evidence to back it up) that corporate sponsors are most likely to give a quick response - at least to indicate possible interest. Does anyone have experience of the time taken to apply for funding from funds of the state and its agencies?
Cormac
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The time taken is usually in proportion to the amount sought.
My guess that we would have get an answer very fast, and that any of the Lottery funded routes would be too slow (e.g. three to six months).
My reading is that any body must have had some background independently, so appealing to the Foundation's history is not going to help. Although they could support the application in other ways.
Gordo