I'm not sure that's a valid assumption in this specific case. The immediate drama around the way donations were requested could have prevented a lot of donations from occurring.

Volatility isn't exactly conducive to getting support, so it's hard to tell how many people would have happily supported the project if things had shaken out differently. The developer quitting angrily a day after asking for financial help, for example. Seems like people might wonder why they need to give money to someone who has already quit, even if none of the other kerfuffle had taken place.

It really isn't part of the gnome design so probably not

Gnome are only interested in their quasi-Touch design