"Anything given away for free, has no value"
Although we try to maintain this software for as little as possible, we have working lives and other items that need doing.
By donating we can spend time on this project and not on others.
We can spend time supporting members and producing plug-ins and additional features instead of the bare minimum. Also there are 1000's of hours of work and knowledge thrown in so you can use it at our expense.
Think about it like this. For a firm to do the same for you, the system would start in the region of £1500 ($2250) plus additional maintenance cost. Of course you get warranty and support, but then we aim to answer your requests for support and for free. So really with out donations support and quick releases would be near impossible. So $50 for a program where you can make money from is very little to ask, is it not?