I'm not sure why extraterrestrial life wouldn't exist. I don't think a beacon is a good idea (especially if extraterrestrials are anything like terrestrials). The energy could be better allocated. I run SETI@home so i have an excuse not to turn off my computer >grin
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.