user11009: Do I get more merits if I give more? What is considered a reasonable donation?
Please give some examples.

user111: Giving more requires greater Alobha(detachment). So yes, it is more meritorious. But make sure there's wisdom involved in the act. 
Ex: if you give a cart full of food to just one monk who doesn't have anyone else to share it with, the food is just going to waste. In that case your ignorance can diminish the quality of the merits gained. 

user471: The answer to this is found in AN 7.52 (quoted below). It's not about how much you give, rather, it's the intention with which you give it. This is unsurprising, because kamma is mainly about intention.
The highest reward comes by giving a gift only because it supports and adorns the mind. In this answer, I've analyzed that this means that any kind of reward is not expected for giving, instead one gives because it makes the mind virtuous. The purpose of virtue is in AN 10.1.
The second best reward comes by giving a gift only because it makes the mind serene and joyful.
The lowest reward comes by giving a gift because a reward in the form of future enjoyment or future pleasures is expected.

“Sariputta, there is the case where a person gives a gift seeking his
  own profit, with a mind attached [to the reward], seeking to store up
  for himself [with the thought], ‘I’ll enjoy this after death.’ He
  gives his gift—food, drink, clothing, a vehicle; a garland, perfume, &
  ointment; bedding, shelter, & a lamp—to a brahman or a contemplative.
  What do you think, Sariputta? Might a person give such a gift as
  this?”
“Yes, lord.”
“Having given this gift seeking his own profit—with a mind attached
  [to the reward], seeking to store up for himself, [with the thought],
  ‘I’ll enjoy this after death’—on the break-up of the body, after
  death, he reappears in the company of the Four Great Kings. Then,
  having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that
  sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to this world.
“Then there is the case of a person who gives a gift not seeking his
  own profit, not with a mind attached [to the reward], not seeking to
  store up for himself, nor [with the thought], ‘I’ll enjoy this after
  death.’ Instead, he gives a gift with the thought, ‘Giving is good.’
  He gives his gift—food, drink, clothing, a vehicle; a garland,
  perfume, & ointment; bedding, shelter, & a lamp—to a brahman or a
  contemplative. What do you think, Sariputta? Might a person give such
  a gift as this?”
“Yes, lord.”
“Having given this gift with the thought, ‘Giving is good,’ on the
  break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of the
  Devas of the Thirty-three. Then, having exhausted that action, that
  power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to
  this world.
“Or, instead of thinking, ‘Giving is good,’ he gives a gift with the
  thought, ‘This was given in the past, done in the past, by my father &
  grandfather. It would not be right for me to let this old family
  custom be discontinued’… on the break-up of the body, after death, he
  reappears in the company of the Devas of the Hours. Then, having
  exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he
  is a returner, coming back to this world.
“Or, instead… he gives a gift with the thought, ‘I am well-off. These
  are not well-off. It would not be right for me, being well-off, not to
  give a gift to those who are not well-off’… on the break-up of the
  body, after death, he reappears in the company of the Contented Devas.
  Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that
  sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to this world.
“Or, instead… he gives a gift with the thought, ‘Just as there were
  the great sacrifices of the sages of the past—Atthaka, Vamaka,
  Vamadeva, Vessamitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha,
  Kassapa, & Bhagu—in the same way will this be my distribution of
  gifts’… on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the
  company of the devas who delight in creation. Then, having exhausted
  that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a
  returner, coming back to this world.
“Or, instead… he gives a gift with the thought, ‘When this gift of
  mine is given, it makes the mind serene. Gratification & joy arise’…
  on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company
  of the devas who have power over the creations of others. Then, having
  exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he
  is a returner, coming back to this world.
“Or, instead of thinking, ‘When this gift of mine is given, it makes
  the mind serene. Gratification & joy arise,’ he gives a gift with the
  thought, ‘This is an ornament for the mind, a support for the mind.’
  He gives his gift—food, drink, clothing, a vehicle; a garland,
  perfume, & ointment; bedding, shelter, & a lamp—to a brahman or a
  contemplative. What do you think, Sariputta? Might a person give such
  a gift as this?”
“Yes, lord.”
“Having given this, not seeking his own profit, not with a mind
  attached [to the reward], not seeking to store up for himself, nor
  [with the thought], ‘I’ll enjoy this after death,’
“—nor with the thought, ‘Giving is good,’
“—nor with the thought, ‘This was given in the past, done in the past,
  by my father & grandfather. It would not be right for me to let this
  old family custom be discontinued,’
“—nor with the thought, ‘I am well-off. These are not well-off. It
  would not be right for me, being well-off, not to give a gift to those
  who are not well-off,’ nor with the thought, ‘Just as there were the
  great sacrifices of the sages of the past—Atthaka, Vamaka, Vamadeva,
  Vessamitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha, Kassapa, &
  Bhagu—in the same way this will be my distribution of gifts,’
“—nor with the thought, ‘When this gift of mine is given, it makes the
  mind serene. Gratification & joy arise,’
“—but with the thought, ‘This is an ornament for the mind, a support
  for the mind’—on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears
  in the company of Brahma’s Retinue. Then, having exhausted that
  action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a
  non-returner. He does not come back to this world.
“This, Sariputta, is the cause, this is the reason, why a person gives
  a gift of a certain sort and it does not bear great fruit or great
  benefit, whereas another person gives a gift of the same sort and it
  bears great fruit and great benefit.”


user11674: The very intention of making merit is bound in craving & thus in egoism. Please refer to AN 7.49 how to give properly.

user14789: People who claim to only want to be reborn in nice realms love their idea that they can get there by dana hoping they can avoid samadhi, The problem with dana is mostly that the result of dana depends of the cetana of the giver (that's a well known claim by the buddha https://suttacentral.net/an7.52/en/sujato) but also on how well behaved is the receiver of the gift
https://suttacentral.net/an7.47/en/sujato and https://suttacentral.net/an7.96-614/en/sujato and in fact, the receiver approaches first the well behaved giver https://suttacentral.net/an7.57/en/sujato
. And of course, when there is nobody to receive the gift, there cannot be a dana in the first place....
So typically giving stuff to noble ones work well, but giving stuff puthujjanas and animals is not ''of great fruit'', even with the proper cetana.

"And how is a donation endowed with six factors? There is the case
  where there are the three factors of the donor, the three factors of
  the recipients.
"And which are the three factors of the donor? There is the case where
  the donor, before giving, is glad; while giving, his/her mind is
  bright & clear; and after giving is gratified. These are the three
  factors of the donor.
"And which are the three factors of the recipients? There is the case
  where the recipients are free of passion or are practicing for the
  subduing of passion; free of aversion or practicing for the subduing
  of aversion; and free of delusion or practicing for the subduing of
  delusion. These are the three factors of the recipients.
"Such are the three factors of the donor, the three factors of the
  recipients. And this is how a donation is endowed with six factors.
"And it is not easy to take the measure of the merit of a donation
  thus endowed with six factors as 'just this much a bonanza of merit, a
  bonanza of what is skillful — a nutriment of bliss, heavenly,
  resulting in bliss, leading to heaven — that leads to what is
  desirable, pleasing, charming, beneficial, pleasant.' It is simply
  reckoned as a great mass of merit, incalculable, immeasurable. [1]

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an06/an06.037.than.html
The best activity to generate merit is really samadhi, and the people who prefer dana to non-arya over samadhi fail to understand that  their choice does not give efficient result. It is like wanting to build a huge pyramid and those people built this with grain of sand after grain sand, instead of laying down huge bricks after huge bricks and actually building the pyramid quickly and with efficacy. 
Dana to non-nobles works, but not as efficient as those people love to think and they better have good sila outside of dana in order to make it work....
When there is no buddha, no arya sangha to give stuff to, there is still the citta to control and this activity is always meritorious, so people who want to be reborn in nice realm better be skilled in the jhanas.

11009: <p>Do I get more merits if I give more? What is considered a reasonable donation?
Please give some examples.</p>
 111: <p>Giving more requires greater Alobha(detachment). So yes, it is more meritorious. But make sure there's wisdom involved in the act. </p>

<p>Ex: if you give a cart full of food to just one monk who doesn't have anyone else to share it with, the food is just going to waste. In that case your ignorance can diminish the quality of the merits gained. </p>
 471: <p>The answer to this is found in <a href="https://suttacentral.net/an7.52/en/thanissaro" rel="nofollow noreferrer">AN 7.52</a> (quoted below). It's not about how much you give, rather, it's the intention with which you give it. This is unsurprising, because kamma is mainly about intention.</p>

<p>The highest reward comes by giving a gift only because it supports and adorns the mind. In <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/31371/471">this answer</a>, I've analyzed that this means that any kind of reward is not expected for giving, instead one gives because it makes the mind virtuous. The purpose of virtue is in <a href="https://suttacentral.net/an10.1/en/bodhi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">AN 10.1</a>.</p>

<p>The second best reward comes by giving a gift only because it makes the mind serene and joyful.</p>

<p>The lowest reward comes by giving a gift because a reward in the form of future enjoyment or future pleasures is expected.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>“Sariputta, there is the case where a person gives a gift seeking his
  own profit, with a mind attached [to the reward], seeking to store up
  for himself [with the thought], ‘I’ll enjoy this after death.’ He
  gives his gift—food, drink, clothing, a vehicle; a garland, perfume, &amp;
  ointment; bedding, shelter, &amp; a lamp—to a brahman or a contemplative.
  What do you think, Sariputta? Might a person give such a gift as
  this?”</p>
  
  <p>“Yes, lord.”</p>
  
  <p>“Having given this gift seeking his own profit—with a mind attached
  [to the reward], seeking to store up for himself, [with the thought],
  ‘I’ll enjoy this after death’—on the break-up of the body, after
  death, he reappears in the company of the Four Great Kings. Then,
  having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that
  sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to this world.</p>
  
  <p>“Then there is the case of a person who gives a gift not seeking his
  own profit, not with a mind attached [to the reward], not seeking to
  store up for himself, nor [with the thought], ‘I’ll enjoy this after
  death.’ Instead, he gives a gift with the thought, ‘Giving is good.’
  He gives his gift—food, drink, clothing, a vehicle; a garland,
  perfume, &amp; ointment; bedding, shelter, &amp; a lamp—to a brahman or a
  contemplative. What do you think, Sariputta? Might a person give such
  a gift as this?”</p>
  
  <p>“Yes, lord.”</p>
  
  <p>“Having given this gift with the thought, ‘Giving is good,’ on the
  break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of the
  Devas of the Thirty-three. Then, having exhausted that action, that
  power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to
  this world.</p>
  
  <p>“Or, instead of thinking, ‘Giving is good,’ he gives a gift with the
  thought, ‘This was given in the past, done in the past, by my father &amp;
  grandfather. It would not be right for me to let this old family
  custom be discontinued’… on the break-up of the body, after death, he
  reappears in the company of the Devas of the Hours. Then, having
  exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he
  is a returner, coming back to this world.</p>
  
  <p>“Or, instead… he gives a gift with the thought, ‘I am well-off. These
  are not well-off. It would not be right for me, being well-off, not to
  give a gift to those who are not well-off’… on the break-up of the
  body, after death, he reappears in the company of the Contented Devas.
  Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that
  sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to this world.</p>
  
  <p>“Or, instead… he gives a gift with the thought, ‘Just as there were
  the great sacrifices of the sages of the past—Atthaka, Vamaka,
  Vamadeva, Vessamitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha,
  Kassapa, &amp; Bhagu—in the same way will this be my distribution of
  gifts’… on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the
  company of the devas who delight in creation. Then, having exhausted
  that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a
  returner, coming back to this world.</p>
  
  <p>“Or, instead… he gives a gift with the thought, ‘When this gift of
  mine is given, it makes the mind serene. Gratification &amp; joy arise’…
  on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company
  of the devas who have power over the creations of others. Then, having
  exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he
  is a returner, coming back to this world.</p>
  
  <p>“Or, instead of thinking, ‘When this gift of mine is given, it makes
  the mind serene. Gratification &amp; joy arise,’ he gives a gift with the
  thought, ‘This is an ornament for the mind, a support for the mind.’
  He gives his gift—food, drink, clothing, a vehicle; a garland,
  perfume, &amp; ointment; bedding, shelter, &amp; a lamp—to a brahman or a
  contemplative. What do you think, Sariputta? Might a person give such
  a gift as this?”</p>
  
  <p>“Yes, lord.”</p>
  
  <p>“Having given this, not seeking his own profit, not with a mind
  attached [to the reward], not seeking to store up for himself, nor
  [with the thought], ‘I’ll enjoy this after death,’</p>
  
  <p>“—nor with the thought, ‘Giving is good,’</p>
  
  <p>“—nor with the thought, ‘This was given in the past, done in the past,
  by my father &amp; grandfather. It would not be right for me to let this
  old family custom be discontinued,’</p>
  
  <p>“—nor with the thought, ‘I am well-off. These are not well-off. It
  would not be right for me, being well-off, not to give a gift to those
  who are not well-off,’ nor with the thought, ‘Just as there were the
  great sacrifices of the sages of the past—Atthaka, Vamaka, Vamadeva,
  Vessamitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha, Kassapa, &amp;
  Bhagu—in the same way this will be my distribution of gifts,’</p>
  
  <p>“—nor with the thought, ‘When this gift of mine is given, it makes the
  mind serene. Gratification &amp; joy arise,’</p>
  
  <p>“—but with the thought, ‘This is an ornament for the mind, a support
  for the mind’—on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears
  in the company of Brahma’s Retinue. Then, having exhausted that
  action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a
  non-returner. He does not come back to this world.</p>
  
  <p>“This, Sariputta, is the cause, this is the reason, why a person gives
  a gift of a certain sort and it does not bear great fruit or great
  benefit, whereas another person gives a gift of the same sort and it
  bears great fruit and great benefit.”</p>
</blockquote>
 11674: <p>The very intention of making merit is bound in craving &amp; thus in egoism. Please refer to AN 7.49 how to give properly.</p>
 14789: <p>People who claim to only want to be reborn in nice realms love their idea that they can get there by dana hoping they can avoid samadhi, The problem with dana is mostly that the result of dana depends of the cetana of the giver (that's a well known claim by the buddha <a href="https://suttacentral.net/an7.52/en/sujato" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/an7.52/en/sujato</a>) but also on how well behaved is the receiver of the gift
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/an7.47/en/sujato" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/an7.47/en/sujato</a> and <a href="https://suttacentral.net/an7.96-614/en/sujato" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/an7.96-614/en/sujato</a> and in fact, the receiver approaches first the well behaved giver <a href="https://suttacentral.net/an7.57/en/sujato" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/an7.57/en/sujato</a></p>

<p>. And of course, when there is nobody to receive the gift, there cannot be a dana in the first place....</p>

<p>So typically giving stuff to noble ones work well, but giving stuff puthujjanas and animals is not ''of great fruit'', even with the proper cetana.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"And how is a donation endowed with six factors? There is the case
  where there are the three factors of the donor, the three factors of
  the recipients.</p>
  
  <p>"And which are the three factors of the donor? There is the case where
  the donor, before giving, is glad; while giving, his/her mind is
  bright &amp; clear; and after giving is gratified. These are the three
  factors of the donor.</p>
  
  <p>"And which are the three factors of the recipients? There is the case
  where the recipients are free of passion or are practicing for the
  subduing of passion; free of aversion or practicing for the subduing
  of aversion; and free of delusion or practicing for the subduing of
  delusion. These are the three factors of the recipients.</p>
  
  <p>"Such are the three factors of the donor, the three factors of the
  recipients. And this is how a donation is endowed with six factors.</p>
  
  <p>"And it is not easy to take the measure of the merit of a donation
  thus endowed with six factors as 'just this much a bonanza of merit, a
  bonanza of what is skillful — a nutriment of bliss, heavenly,
  resulting in bliss, leading to heaven — that leads to what is
  desirable, pleasing, charming, beneficial, pleasant.' It is simply
  reckoned as a great mass of merit, incalculable, immeasurable. [1]</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an06/an06.037.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an06/an06.037.than.html</a></p>

<p>The best activity to generate merit is really samadhi, and the people who prefer dana to non-arya over samadhi fail to understand that  their choice does not give efficient result. It is like wanting to build a huge pyramid and those people built this with grain of sand after grain sand, instead of laying down huge bricks after huge bricks and actually building the pyramid quickly and with efficacy. 
Dana to non-nobles works, but not as efficient as those people love to think and they better have good sila outside of dana in order to make it work....
When there is no buddha, no arya sangha to give stuff to, there is still the citta to control and this activity is always meritorious, so people who want to be reborn in nice realm better be skilled in the jhanas.</p>
