The future of Atahualpa

I'm sorry to see that Atahualpa is no longer being updated. It seems unfair that WordPress should insist on a costly rewriting of the theme just to make it work with their customizer (the theme's own settings section works fine), so I understand the developers' position. However, I'm worried about continuing to rely on a theme that may break with with a future WP update. Is there nothing that can be done? The theme has huge user base. Could we not crowdfund the production of a new version, meeting WP's standards?

If that's not possible, does anyone have any suggestions for a replacement theme with similar features? It's the customizability that makes Atahualpa so special.