diff --git a/.github/FUNDING.yml b/.github/FUNDING.yml
index 7eb2b18..cfd2c11 100644
--- a/.github/FUNDING.yml
+++ b/.github/FUNDING.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # Sponsor button shown in the repo sidebar and on every issue / PR.
 #
-# Renders only once the account is enrolled in GitHub Sponsors
-# (https://github.com/sponsors). Until then the button stays hidden.
-github: MakazhanAlpamys
+# `github:` only renders once the account is enrolled in GitHub Sponsors
+# (https://github.com/sponsors) — it is not, so it stays commented out.
+# github: MakazhanAlpamys
+
+custom: ["https://buy.stripe.com/4gMcN441k3pha3T19ye7m04"]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7876fb9..a327f7d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -363,15 +363,22 @@ single 4 GB laptop, which is why every performance number in these docs is measu
 claimed.
 
 If Soup saved you a training run, [starring the repo](https://github.com/MakazhanAlpamys/Soup)
-helps most, and it costs nothing.
+helps most, and it costs nothing. If you would like to fund the work directly:
 
-The next most useful thing is **hardware**. Multi-GPU, 8B+ validation, and Apple Silicon are
-the parts a single 4 GB laptop cannot reach, so they ship behind honest "requires <hardware>"
-gates instead of unverified claims. If you have access to a bigger box — or GPU credits going
-unused — running one of the
+**[❤️ Donate](https://buy.stripe.com/4gMcN441k3pha3T19ye7m04)** — one-off, any amount (use
+*Change amount* on the checkout page). Payments are processed by Stripe under the maintainer's
+registered business, **MePlay, Inc.** — that name, not "Soup", is what appears on the checkout
+page and on your card statement.
+
+Donations buy GPU time for the hardware-gated work — multi-GPU, 8B+ validation, Apple Silicon —
+that a single 4 GB laptop cannot reach.
+
+The other way to move exactly those items is **hardware itself**. They ship behind honest
+"requires \<hardware\>" gates rather than unverified claims, so if you have access to a bigger
+box — or GPU credits going unused — running one of the
 [`help wanted`](https://github.com/MakazhanAlpamys/Soup/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22help+wanted%22)
-issues and posting the numbers moves Soup further than anything else. Those issues say exactly
-what is blocked on hardware today.
+issues and posting the numbers helps as much as funding the GPU time would. Those issues say
+exactly what is blocked on hardware today.
 
 ## Contributors