Interesting project! Thank you for coming back at the comment :)

Your comment sent me on a little google-research concerning the funding of independent scientific research. I ended up reading this article (downloadable pdf).

"All of these observations speak to the ways in which the lack of diversification
in science funding, its restriction primarily to corporate and governmental interests, erects
obstacles to the sustained production of scientific knowledge."

The article shines a light on the very topic you and me are talking about. A community which funds independent scientific research and development might sound like a utopian dream (no pun intended). But it is totally reachable! Really looking forward to see projects like this grow :)

Check out the article, quite interesting.