In that case: I think a system in-between idea 2 and 3. Like I mentioned before allow people to donate any amount of money to Hubski, but after a certain threshold grant them this "Patron Status." So let's say the patron status is set at $15 (just a clean random number). That is a pretty high number for the status, but what if we allowed donations to accrue? You donate $5 one week, and $5 another. Those two separate donations go towards that $15 patron status. Once you reach the status you have it, and as long as you donate $15 dollars by the next calendar year you can keep the status, or if you prefer let it fall off. All the numbers and time frames are placeholders and could be changed to anything, but the premise is the: - accept all donations - Patron status after certain amount of donations - allow donations to add up rather than paying for patron status all at once.
I like the idea of letting your donations accrue to get a patron status. If I had two suggestions to make to branch out from that it'd be . . . 1) Set a minimum donation amount to save mk and co money and hassle. A bunch of $1 and $2 donations here and there might cost too much transaction wise and be more of a hassle to deal with than they're worth. 2) Keep patronage anonymous. I don't think other users should know who is and isn't a patron, lest people start expecting special treatment.