Fundraising is the activity of collecting money for a set purpose, especially to help people who are ill, old, or in need, or to keep a school, a charity, or a community project going. It covers a cake sale, a charity run, an online appeal, a big dinner where people are asked to give. Schools, NGOs, and churches in English-speaking places use the word constantly. Though actually, companies also collect money, but fundraising as a noun still smells a little more of charity and community than of banks. You will also see it in front of another noun: a fundraising dinner, a fundraising campaign.