The forced donation was pretty silly when a lot of us donate when given just the slightest nudging…
Maybe you should consider having a paypal link in the sidebar so people can donate throughout the year instead of "when it's time"? I think you might find you won't have to shut the site down.
My best example is National Public Radio. They delay some content with the pledge drives, but they don't go to dead air either.
Conclusion: Don't go to dead air again like you did because it is annoying. But I'm still happy to support this site.
