I think this is the beginning of an interesting idea, however, the specific funding aspect seems like we could end up with the same dilemma, where people fund flashiness instead of the boring infrastructure projects. I'd rather see effort made for a sort of United Way for open source, where you give money, and their accountants audit projects, and give to groups based on need and value to the community.
Furthermore, I think this is a place where we need outreach to more than coders. This is a good start, but getting donations, and doing all the bookkeeping can be a pain if you're a non-profit. So having accountants willing to sit down with projects and getting things in order so they can set up as a non profit will make companies more willing to donate because they can write it off on their taxes; being a 501(c)3 from the beginning makes that process a lot easier.
Furthermore, I think this is a place where we need outreach to more than coders. This is a good start, but getting donations, and doing all the bookkeeping can be a pain if you're a non-profit. So having accountants willing to sit down with projects and getting things in order so they can set up as a non profit will make companies more willing to donate because they can write it off on their taxes; being a 501(c)3 from the beginning makes that process a lot easier.