I don't know your tax situation with confidence, but you should absolutely look at the crypto side of donations because I have read that individuals/companies can save up to 30% on their taxes by simply donating to non-profits taking crypto, I have to assume from that the taxes aren't being taken on by the non-profits in that situation but are rather being forgiven in some way. Once again, not an expert, but you never know. If you are hitting a VC up, just go in with confidence and work on a nice pitch deck, a few of my friends that work in that field say that the pitch deck is the most important part because a lot of the research and initial work is being done by interns/new employees and the best way to catch an unseasoned eye is to make your work pop out on the pitchdeck. I hope you find the funding you are looking for, let us know what the project is as it progresses so we can check it out!