No personal experience with an early-stage non-profit, but it seems like the best way to acquire funding would be to look for government grants or grants from l

No personal experience with an early-stage non-profit, but it seems like the best way to acquire funding would be to look for government grants or grants from larger non-profits. The government funds a lot of ideas which they don't have the manpower or expertise to implement themselves. Once you have some early work done it should be a lot easier to get donations from the community at large.