We have a difficult time finding a free, appropriate venue for our meetups. We've met in crowded, busy, loud restaurants and tried to give presentations. Asking members to fork over $2-$5 to help pay the venue for an organized, sound appropriate venue with projection equipment is not out bounds in my humble opinion. It's not fair to expect the venue to host us for free, and it's not fair to expect volunteer organizers to pay for it out of their own pocket. We've been fortunate to find free space so far, thanks to ITT Tech and the Sarasota HUB co-working space and have kept our meetings free - so far. But if we have to charge 2-5 bucks to keep it going, we will.

Miroslav, if you were in my Sarasota, FL meetup and you contacted me about the payment situation, I'd find other ways for you to contribute as "payment". I'd schedule you to present on a topic you knew about, or have you scouting "free" venues, or have you volunteer in other ways. :) Maybe you should reach out to the organizer?