Back when I was working, and we had a "Donate" option, I donated to help, and like I said, I know why the adds are here, and they are better than no forum.
Most forums don't work off of the "donate" method. Advertising is really the only way to go. We have the traffic, it whould work out. The feedback I am getting is very positive, and the forum looks like most forums I visit.
Well, bye to Google Ad Sense, they paid a total of .16 cents for a day of advertising. I think we did more for them than they did for us. So no more Google Ad Sense.