If the survey has done nothing else but highlight people's willingness to pay for the forum then its all good, and if the majority of members favour a donations based subscription model then maybe that's the way it needs to be, as I said previously you may have to go against your desire to not ask for money, by having a bit more of a message to the donate buttond, maybe turn it into a pint glass, and ask "have you bought the forum a beer, or two, or three, this year?" something like that to remind people that they still need to donate.
If the survey has done nothing else but highlight people's willingness to pay for the forum then its all good, and if the majority of members favour a donations based subscription model then maybe that's the way it needs to be, as I said previously you may have to go against your desire to not ask for money, by having a bit more of a message to the donate buttond, maybe turn it into a pint glass, and ask "have you bought the forum a beer, or two, or three, this year?" something like that to remind people that they still need to donate.