> Does he actually explain what the $56K will be used for?

Yes, explains what needs to be done in the video:

    1. Visit colleagues to get more material

    2. Commission graphics and artwork

    3. Prepare a good book proposal for publishers

Regarding (1), I suppose the biggest objection is that he can just talk to people using some kind of telecommunications tech, but 'face time'[1] offers so much higher bandwidth for stuff like this.

[1] not FaceTime