At this point I’m sure you’ve all heard what’s going on with Patreon. If not, here’s the shortest of short rundowns: the change in operating procedure means that patrons now pay an additional processing fee when donating, meaning a $1 donation is really going to be more like $1.38.
That begins to level out for larger donations, but for small sites like me–who don’t have gated content and really just use the modest, kind donations of readers to keep the internet paid–it means losing a good chunk of income as people quite understandably have to pare down and think of their own finances.
Patreon was always something of a wonky fit. It meant that folks could donate a dollar a month in an easy set-it-and-forget-it model, but it was never quite right for the commissions (you request the subject, I write about it!) that have always been the actual payment model for the site.
With that in mind, I wanted to seek your opinion on a few options I’m considering going forward. Whatever decision happens, I want to stress that there will be no gated content. Explanations for the poll choices are under the cut. Thanks, y’all!
Allows for one-time donations of a donor’s choosing, with automatic listing and recognition under the name of the donor’s choice. Would suit those interested in commissions quite well.
On the downside, there isn’t a monthly model, so anyone who prefers just having a dollar or five automatically deducted monthly is left out.
Paypal Tip Jar
The model used by site friend Dee over at Josei Next Door (toss her a dollar!). One-time use and anonymous.
However, anyone who isn’t able to use Paypal is excluded, and it also lacks monthly donations.
The current model. Allows for small monthly donations or for commission seekers to make a larger one-month donation and then cancel afterward. However, there is the issue of the new fees and the site’s current instability in the face of the backlash.
Categories: Professional
Fashionable Tinfoil Accessories 
I say the best option (at least until Drip goes public) is to stick with the Patreon for regular monthly donations, but also have a KoFi or Paypal jar to cover any one-time ones and/or commissions.
My apologies for not chiming in before now. I basically agree with Brainchild129: the “set it and forget it” nature of Patreon is handy, so I suggest continuing to use it until/unless something better comes along (like Drip?). However you might want to add some additional explanation on the Patreon page about how the fees work.
As for one-time donations, a Paypal tip jar would work fine for me. (I haven’t used Ko-fi at all and have no opinion on it.)
Not at all! I always appreciate input from the folks who’ve so kindly offered support.