I'm so tired of this passive aggressive guilt trip "my product is free but if you want me to keep providing it I need you to patreon me" "business" model. Charge! Non-optionally! I'll pay if you do that - not before.
I didn't take that as anything remotely like a guilt trip. If you'll only pay for what you use when it's non-optional, that's fine. Just don't read fundraising messages and don't contribute. Easy-peasy.