It's not easy. Or if it is, would you do it for us? There's really no "us", it's just a bunch of people together on the internet. Except for write access to our website, you're as qualified and authorised to do the legwork as I am. Even receiving donations is complicated, which is why we're grateful that the FSF does it for us.
I've also heard mixed reports about whether this would help with a revenue stream or not. I remember hearing organisations that set up this fake-purchase process but didn't really get that much more money than just plain donations.
Why dont you write in to https://stripe.com/atlas . It is run by @patio11 - the resident god of running self-sustaining software companies. I dont know of anyone better to either help you or advise you.
We all want you to succeed. Trust me - it may feel we are condescending, but it comes from a desperation to not see great open source software die. So please excuse my language if it offended you.
I'd always be happy chatting with an OSS project about monetization options -- email me any time, work-related or otherwise. I should also write about it a bit; thanks for reminding me to do so.
Minor corrections:
a) Atlas is built by a team of smart people.
b) Although I appreciate the praise, I am just an entrepreneur. There are many on HN and elsewhere who do that better than me. I get mildly frustrated by how we sacralize the mechanics of business, because this is one of the reasons why smart people who know what compilers are come to believe that a sales tax filing is an impossibly high barrier.
I firmly believe that anyone capable of writing a meaningful software product can run a company. We're trying to make this radically less daunting than it is right now; if particular problems about running a company (OSS or otherwise) worry you, we'd love to hear what they are and brainstorm how we could possibly help.
I've also heard mixed reports about whether this would help with a revenue stream or not. I remember hearing organisations that set up this fake-purchase process but didn't really get that much more money than just plain donations.