Fundraising or fund raising (also development) is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies (see also crowd funding). Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gather money for non-profit organizations, it is sometimes used to refer to the identification and solicitation of investors or other sources of capital for for-profit enterprises. Traditionally, fundraising consisted mostly of asking for donations on the street or at people's doors, and this is experiencing very strong growth^{[citation needed]} in the form of face-to-face fundraising, but new forms of fundraising such as online fundraising have emerged in recent years, though these are often based on older methods such as grassroots fundraising.

Fundraising is a significant way that non-profit organizations may obtain the money for their operations. These operations can involve a very broad array of concerns such as religious or philanthropic groups such as research organizations, public broadcasters, political campaigns and environemental issues.

Michael M. Kaiser is president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Dubbed "the turnaround king" for his work at such arts institutions as the Kansas City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Opera House, Kaiser has earned international renown for his expertise in arts management.

Born October 27, 1953, in New York City, Kaiser grew up in New Rochelle, New York, earning an undergraduate degree in economics and minor in music from Brandeis University, Magna Cum Laude, and a masters degree in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management. His study of vocal music reflected an early passion for the arts, and while he hoped for a career as an opera singer he was, as he put it, "just dreadful"

Kaiser's early career focused on management consulting. In 1981, he founded Kaiser Associates, a strategic planning company, whose clients included General Motors and IBM. But in 1985, spurred by his lifelong love of the arts, he sold his management consultancy to enter the world of arts management.

Dr. Peter H. Diamandis (born May 20, 1961) is considered a key figure in the development of the personal spaceflight industry, having created many space-related businesses or organizations. He is the Founder and Chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, an educational non-profit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.

His foundation is best known for offering the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private-sector manned spaceflight, a prize that was won in October 2004 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and famed aviation designer Burt Rutan with SpaceShipOne, the world's first non-government piloted spacecraft. More recently, Diamandis has created the Rocket Racing League. Born as a cross between Indy car racing and rocket-powered flight, RRL is developing a brand-new motor sport.

In addition to serving as chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, Diamandis is also the CEO and co-founder of Zero Gravity Corporation, which offers parabolic weightless flights to the general public. He is also the co-Founder and a Director of Space Adventures, Ltd, the company that has flown eight private citizens on Soyuz to the International Space Station.