Agree completely. For reference of how it could work, perhaps look at https://www.psybient.org/ which has managed to stay going for several years now despite not having a working forum section.
I would be happy to help out with this project, either on the technical side (I have a software development background) or by assisting with funding. Like Richpa said, with current Wordpress templates I think there is a lot that can be done with relatively low initial effort.