It's kinda about that, and not.
The theme is we all help out the forum through donations when we can. It's not something that's forced, but like I read before, it is appreciated. I'm sure everyone gets at least $20 worth of entertainment from their time spent online. So, the theory is if everyone can help out without putting themselves in financial limbo...we can have more cool things here.
On the flip side, the hacks and packages are what you get in return for your donation, so it's a win-win situation.
At the end of the day it's purely voluntary. No one will try to hard sell you on donating, but it's something to think about.