I always found the statement “GNOME is a corporate project; it's either their way or the highway” quite ironic.
You as a company can fund GNOME for how much and how long you want, but do not expect us to bend over just because of that fact, or to comply if you threaten to stop funding GNOME. If you fund GNOME, you're funding the project's future, not the rights to dictate the direction. We won't hesitate to show you the highway if the sole purpose of funding the project was to buy your way in.
This is a true community project. A corporate project would comply with whatever the “donors” want to do with the project.