If your skills are relevant and good, you ought to be able to have way more impact on a political campaign than a 17k donation, which at most levels of developed world politics barely scratches the surface and isn't going to teach you anything about politics either.

It's a little different if the volunteering is something low impact or something you're way out of your depth in, or if the cause wanting money has a way of getting very tangible rewards (which are quantifiably greater than whatever free time you can spare on it)