I think donating is more of an emotional thing. When a new release brings a feature I’ve been waiting for, or a developer spends time on Discord explaining some complicated technology, I appreciate that and donate.
It would be delusional to think that a small donation affects a project’s future.
The only exception is when you aren’t donating but are paying for services because they offer a better price than other similar products. In that case, it’s different: it’s not about emotions, but about the devs having a good understanding of the market.