Thanks to all those who have responded positively! I've been thinking about the best way to do this, and it seems that kickstarter is the best way to do things above the table, and have transparency. We can start the contributions around September 1, and have a December 15 application deadline. I didn't want to start until I could put my own money behind this, as a show of good faith.
This is no arbitrary thing; I say that to say that we can all contribute to the terms and conditions, as long as people take this serious and don't troll.
All help is welcomed- this is my first time doing a fundraiser/thing-of-this-sort, but I know all of us coli members can make this successful. Reason #82267 why we are the best message board on the net.
edit- i will keep updating this thread when necessary