I understand the reason but it's the only one I've found that's actually different and good. Getting away from Nova wasn't easy, a very small fee is trivial to me for that.
Besides, do you also not donate to anything else you use regularly or other worthy causes?
Best way is to use a different launcher. You can install a few and switch between them. Setting up a new one can be a bit time consuming but you get a feel for them doing so. Keep notes.
I used Nova for years but unfortunately it's now owned by a data collection company. I found it difficult to find another but since being on Lemmy and reading posts like these, I've finally moved to Niagara.
It's very different but I suggest it for you because of your need tothe search for installed apps. That's what it's based around, there's no separate app drawer. It's very clever and easy to use once set up, and well worth the effort.
Most features are free but the paid version has a seven day trial. It's a very reasonable cost which you pay annually and I think it's worth it if you're going to use the app. It's very mature and the dev deserves to get paid for it, especially at the low cost he's asking. Check his website.
As you can probably tell, I'm a huge fan.
EDIT - as pointed out, it's not FOSS. My apologies and I've edited accordingly.
