I think the value of what he does is that it's driven by curiosity. A pile of money donated by people might put him under pressure to deliver things to his audi

I think the value of what he does is that it's driven by curiosity. A pile of money donated by people might put him under pressure to deliver things to his audience which might ruin that. A fund that hackers can apply to for building cool projects is an interesting idea though (to the extend that I'm sure one already exists).