Over the years, I’ve supported a variety of artists, essayists, podcast hosts via Patreon. It’s firstly about supporting art/ a cause/ information I believe in/ like, and secondarily about what I get in return. I currently support 3 creators, one of whom I’ve followed in some form or other for almost two decades. The other two I mostly support because I get a lot more than $5/month in value from the work they do. I think of it as an additional streaming subscription in those cases.
In a couple cases, I discovered I was funding someone else’s lavish lifestyle and the money wasn’t being used for its stated purpose. Those got cancelled immediately - I’m not giving someone money so they can buy a huge house in the second most expensive city in the US while abusing those who work with them/ taking advantage of others’ generosity. There are definite risks and very valid questions about the whole thing, and it’s worth critically examining every few months to see if I still value what I’m funding.