Before the days of online crowd-funding, some local artists did this by email, and I was on their email lists. A donation of the price of their CDs would be rewarded with a copy of the CD when it was released. I did this for two performers because I especially liked their music, but not for others. As with modern funding, they had higher levels, like for a much larger donation they would do a house concert within a certain radius of their homes. I don't feel guilty about not donating, though, and am comfortable with saying something doesn't fit my budget right now but if I can afford it when the CD is available, I'll buy it then. Also, I tell people I never do anything with money online, so people were more likely to get my support when I could just snailmail a check.