I read this all through, and it hangs together quite well. I think whatever you say in public will always have its detractors once your audience grows outside of the comfort zone.
There is an equivalence between Work and Money. In some sense Money is just Work in a static form. You can Work to get Money. You can use Money to buy Work and become a more powerful worker.
Through this lens, the people who contribute to Elm now in a voluntary capacity can also be seen as early investors. We don’t have lots of money to throw at it, so we work instead. But that work is not necessarily being done out of pure benevolence - there is an economic aspect to it. If I invest in Elm, Elm will grow and my investment will grow with it. Even the person who is “just learning Elm for fun”, is investing in their skills, taking a small stake on Elm becoming a popular way to program.
I think you are right that funding for Elm needs to come from sources that are aligned to your aims for Elm. A big no-strings hand-out from a huge internet company would be nice, and you should grab it quick if you can. On the other hand, why would anyone give Elm money if they cannot undertand the investment they are making in it?
The investors that are here already found a great development experience. If you want to expand that investor base, ask the question - what is the great experience they are looking for?
Asside from looking at big money from top internet companies, I think you can also look at growing the existing investment in Elm.
-
At the individual level - attracting more users and contributors.
-
Above that, are individuals or small companies able and willing to donate? Crowd funding each project would be chore as you point out. How about recommending some regular monthly contribution levels for individuals, working consultants, small businesses, larger businesses? It would be a trickle at first, but could grow significantly if it works.
-
Big companies. I don’t have any great insights here - I think those that can afford it are more likely to create their own projects, since we all love to do that. Elm seems more likely to increase its market share from the bottom up, like python did, when developers in the know prove their worth.