I like the idea. A war chest is definitely needed. Convincing DHF to spend on anything will be a very difficult task. The initial steps will have to be bootstrapped. If more people were thinking like you (especially among the Whales) we would have a lot bigger brand recognition and user count.
I agree the initial steps will have to be bootstrapped but at what point does someone want to take that bet or take that bet on a newer blockchain. As time goes on the ecosystem has grown and adapted but also has a lot more competition as well.
A lot of people don't want to admit this but guys like Jerry Banfield pushed an enormous amount of traffic to STEEM. It's tough to assemble that level of marketing push.