If these numbers here are real: http://www.somsubhra.com/github-release-stats/?username=NatronGitHub&repository=Natron
Natron was downloaded 30’000 times.
Plus taking other resources like the Natron Inria Youtube channel with 782 subscribers and other Youtube channels featuring Natron tutorials.
I might be naive, but if we can motivate 1% of all these people downloaded Natron, around 300 people, to donate 20.-- every month (thats what you would pay for a single Adobe product) we could raise 6’000.-- a month.
Could be a starting point to attract existing and new developers to work on the project.