Do I think SETI is important? YES! Can you imagine what will happen when we have proof of others? To be able to look skyward and know for certain that we are not the only winner in the game of creation but part of a living universe. I can't imagine a God who would limit Himself to just one world of intelligent life.
SETI@home and Astropulse are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and donations from SETI@home volunteers. AstroPulse is funded in part by the NSF through grant AST-0307956.