I don't think you should have to be a donating YT member. There are already soooo many privledges to being a donating member, and I know some non-donating people feel like they aren't as special or important. I feel that the meet up is one thing that shouldnt have anything to do with donating members.
Though making a small donation to weed out the people who aren't actually interested sounds like a good idea to me. The money can be put towards the meetup to make it more affordable for people.
JMHO!
