Support and services are revenue models, not donation models. They work when maintainers or specialized teams can sell expertise, assurances, implementation help, SLAs, or commercial support around an open source project.

This category is strongest for projects with production users, business adoption, or technical complexity that customers will pay to reduce. It is harder to use early, but it can become one of the most durable income models once trust and usage are established.

Good references in this category include Tidelift, OpenTeams, and Codementor. Use support and services when the project can convert expertise into revenue; use Donations or Grants when the project still needs broader ecosystem backing.