The idea for this came from the recent talks given by Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson at the House Science and National Labs Caucus, combined with the ever-increasing prominence and scale of crowd-funding.
By looking to crowd-funding as a possibility we can increase the funding base and amount, without politically-challenging budget shuffles. There would be no tax increases for conservatives to oppose, and liberals would be able to point to an innovative method of supplemental funding.
Donations from corporations might be encouraged by making it partially deductible or with ad space. Individuals by offering marked-up callendars or models.
Investments in our space program serve to create jobs, develop new technologies with direct commercial application, and directly help to stengthen our economy