Patreon wasn't actually first. Gratipay (formerly Gittip) was around well before Patreon and "be a sponsor" via an ongoing monthly or annual membership is a con

Patreon wasn't actually first. Gratipay (formerly Gittip) was around well before Patreon and "be a sponsor" via an ongoing monthly or annual membership is a concept that has existed for centuries. Online, Paypal has offered ongoing donations for years. Patreon is just the most prominent and so far successful of several dedicated platforms for the idea of ongoing sponsorship. In the Snowdrift.coop review of hundreds of existing sites, they even list a handful of other subscription-style sites https://snowdrift.coop/p/snowdrift/w/en/othercrowdfunding#subscription https://snowdrift.coop/p/snowdrift/w/en/othercrowdfunding#su... (most with no real success, but many of which were around before Patreon).