I doubt that funding is really the main problem. I think, we first need
- a clear commitment from CDCK staff that matrix implementation is a useful and planned functionality/use case for the Discourse product
- one or two people who can do development work (e.g. 1 x for DIscourse/ruby programming, 1 x for UX work). Plus more supporters for testing, debugging and documentation. I an not a ruby developer, but I could help with test environments and debugging/documentation
- check the code already created by @dan at GitHub - udan11/discourse-chat-matrix: A Matrix bridge for Discourse chat to see where it needs work to move from “alpha” to “beta” status.
- we already had
someone@joshsimmons from the Matrix Foundation in this topic here. He may be helpful with connections and technical details on the matrix side.
Funding, either crowdfunding or external funds, is the last planning step from my point of view. An application for funding can only be made if the other points are clear and agreed upon from the CDCK side. I already mentioned the SRS as a possible source for support and there may be others. There may also be stakeholders among the business customers of CDCK who could support the development of a matrix functionality.