The legal implications would likely be tricky, especially between different countries, but IANAL so I won't comment on that. I think one would have to be creat

The legal implications would likely be tricky, especially between different countries, but IANAL so I won't comment on that. I think one would have to be creative as to how to incentivize donations, but there are a number of things an individual could give back to a funder (perhaps a speaking commitment [e.g. a lecture], or something more sentimental like a postcard from the research area). Giving a portion of future patent royalties would be very interesting, but I'm sure there are some major legal considerations there.. Another idea would be to spend other people's money -- E.g. a charitable foundation would drop a sum of cash into the site that users would be able to spend on various research causes. Assuming one could get a charitable organization to be that risky..