People often wonder why this type of organizations exists, why such organizations have to come back year after year and why they are not self-sustainable, but people do come to the realization that the work that they accomplish could not be done otherwise, or at least it would be much more difficult. In those regions deemed remote, businesses have trouble making ends meet most of the time. There are not always large corporations able to fund research and development projects.
Indeed, even Bombardier, a large corporation, does R&D work for which, from what I know, it receives government funding.
Were the work accomplished by your organization not funded, it would never be done, especially not by the industry. Might that be a weighty argument in your favour?