Hope the direct reply from Dr P has finally ended the continual confusion and that we might now be able to discuss possible ways in which we can do something constructive?
As I've said previously, I think the HLF is the obvious target as despite their claim to be unable or unwilling to help further, we all know that they can, if they want to. As has been mentioned previously, they've poured lots more money into many other projects (Duxford for example) so there's no reason why they couldn't support the project at least until the flight stage.
The real question is how we might be able to persuade HLF that we want them to do this? And that we all want them to step-in, not just a few enthusiasts here and there...