The little old lady political sewing circles (as I like to call them) here are going all out for Cultural Appropriation Beto O'Rourke. There has been probably 4 meet and greets in our little town this year already, all home parties, not big thousand dollar a plate dinner type of things. So yes, I do believe the donations are real.
While in reality he doesn't stand a chance, politics can sometimes be very surprising and one would be wise to never, ever take an opponent for granted. Even if you think you are a shoe-in, fight like you are 20 points down.