Donations weren't required. He did accept donations, however.
That $300,000 thing hasn't really been substantiated AFAICT. It's directly from the mouth of the prosecutor. As someone who helps run a website where we ask users for money (but don't require it), $300,000 seems insane.
I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure a good ratio got you all the same stuff a donation would have. So a donation might have made up for a low ratio in some ways.
