Offering this large file for direct secure https download is not possible without donations for me due to the hosting costs.
To prevent abuse, you must donate a sum, which you can define yourself, to be able to download.
The client itself is synchronizing quite fast for free without the need for a bootstrap file. Therefore using a best compressed bootstrap.dat file to speed up the initialization of Bitcoin-Qt in some scenario is a niche product primary for business purposes.
I think it's a matter of decency to donate if this service helps you to save time or to optimize your business.
I don't disagree that you should be compensated for your time. I simply think this should now be moved to marketplace with all the other paid services.