I like the idea of the development fund! The concept is similar to a thought I once commented here after Hard Fork 20 in that the blockchain Dash has a similar mechanism in that every block mined segregates a portion to a pool for the development and marketing of the blockchain. This could not only help with SMT development but other key future developments that will be needed to continue to support the ecosystem.
However, the short term seems to be more of a focus due to the market conditions we continue to witness. I would propose a SMT for the key infrastructure needs that the ecosystem currently needs. I am not a technical expert but have read that running a full node among other infrastructure requirement are expensive. We should decentralize it completely with a DAO/DAC (Decentralized Organization) that issues SMTs to fund the infrastructure. The organization will then earn revenue by charging for access to its services which are then used for its maintenance and continued development and growth. Services could be paid in the SMT and net earnings less a development fund fee would be distributed to SMT holders. Just a thought despite not knowing much about the technical aspects of it all.
Good idea