Bit of a side point, but the "should this be funded through donations?" and "should it be a non-profit?" questions are slightly different. It's entirely possibl

Bit of a side point, but the "should this be funded through donations?" and "should it be a non-profit?" questions are slightly different. It's entirely possible to run a nonprofit that funds itself via fees for its services, though it might not qualify as a public charity in that case. For example, many hospitals are nonprofits, and are funded primarily through charging patients & patients' insurance. The hospitals could also buy services from other nonprofits. The nonprofit structure just means they aren't intending to make a profit to return to shareholders, not that they never charge anyone for services.