I'd prefer to donate to the clients I use - there are many I wouldn't use (for whatever reason) and so donations to them do not help my goals. For that matter there are causes completely unrelated to jellyfin that I also support: knowing jellyfin has enough money frees to some money to donate to those other causes.

There are more deserving projects in the world than there is money. If you don't want to manage who gets the money directly (this could be called micromanage!) then something like united way which redonates to projects that you haven't heard of is probably a good use of your money. (United way is controversial and they do not support open source but they are still a good use of your money if you want to do the most good with the least thought)

If you're trying to make a donation to a project but want to be able to specify what they can(not) do with the money, then you're not really trying to make a donation.

"Here are some groceries, bring them home to your children and don't trade them for drugs"

Is a donation even if the other party is upset about it.

There's a whiff of a suggestion with the way this comment is framed that makes it seem like the intent is to be a contradiction of the one it's a reply to, but it isn't.

ALL donations to non-profit organizations are purpose-bound to some extend. That's why the relevant organizational structures that allow for tax-exempt donations usually legally bind the origanization to using that money to further it's stated mission and not blow it all on hookers for the board or whatever other pet projects the organization's leadership wants to further. This is how donations are SUPPOSED to work: contribute money towards a COMMON goal, not towards someone else's goal. Donations are not free money. It is a real problem when organizations become so broad you don't really know what you are donating towards. Often such organizations end up using deceptive tactics where they use one of their popular projects (e.g. Wikipedia) to drum up funds that they intend to use for unrelated projects that are not advertised to the donor. The best solution is to keep the scope of the organization tight and tell donors to donated to other organizations as well based on their own preferences. This seems to be what Jellyfin has chosen to do and it's the right choice.

Steve has a car. The car is yellow. All yellow cars are driven by Steve. (Except not.)

You have posted an observation about non-profit organizations and described a defining characteristic of donations that go to them. You have not given a defining characteristic of donations.

> This is how donations are SUPPOSED to work: contribute money towards a COMMON goal

You mean like shoring up the Jellyfin ecosystem?

> Donations are not free money.

Donations are free money. (When the donation is money; donated clothes are obviously not free money—they're free clothes.)