hi joe
i feel your pain.
depending on the final outcome your outcry might be too late or just in time...
at least for me.
personally, after 15 years with scribus, i'm currently taking a break from scribus and i have now cut back almost all my contributions to scribus.
for now, i'm still following the community and the development.
and i'm thinking what my commitment should be in the future.
i've discretely announced my disappointment two week ago, and i only noticed an indirect reaction from the team.
but no question were asked.
somebody already publicly told it to me a couple of years ago: the team prefers a calm life and new ideas and contributions are rather seen as disrupting the flow.
creating an healthy community that works on a branch can be a way for me to get back on track.
i like your ideas and money should probably play a role.
my input is: i don't think that finances should be the first step.
first we should have a group that sits together and makes a plan on what can be done and which skills are needed for reaching it.
if you and other people feel like starting a discussion on such plans, i'm all for it!
i wish you a wonderful start to the week
a.l.e