How to use template for theme

I found a theme I love for my project but unfortunately it is just a template and is not functional. I am not a programmer, just someone who can buy a theme and make some adjustments to make it work. I have no idea how to make this template functional. Wondering if someone can give me some basic feedback. Is it relatively simple to do? Can I just overlay this template on some standard theme, then build up with plugins for PayPal integration and donation meters? What would be a good basic theme to overlay this template on, and how would one go about doing that? I feel like it’s something I could figure out if I just got some basic direction on how to start. Thanks to anyone willing to take the time to help me out. Also, I’d like to make this a responsive theme so it can be viewed well on any device and I am willing to pay someone to help me accomplish all this, too.