I hope we have
the nonprofit setup soon, and if
we can't get it setup, we should start raising donations without an
organization. Kuro5hin raised 35000 dollars in a few days -- I'm not
sure if we can get that high, but we should certainly try.
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.
I don't think that the Foundation should generally reject donations
except when they come with strings attached. Being able to make a
modest donation within one's means can give a sense of belonging.
Two cautions come to mind right away:
1. We need to avoid any perception that a person's value to the
Wikipedia community depends on the amount of donation. The amounts may
need to be kept secret.
2. There needs to be a refund mechanism for banned people who
somehow believe that their donation gives them a protection against banning.
Eclecticology