What is the Z OS's
Welcome to the Zorin forum, Alex.
background
The background of Zorin OS is discussed in " Zorin OS: From the Hobby Project of Two Teenagers to a Growing Startup", a 2017 It's FOSS interview with Artyom Zorin, one of the two principals of the company.
raison d'etre (given the plethora of linux OS's)
The raison d'etre is to provide "A familiar desktop you already know how to use" for Linux adopters coming to Linux from other operating systems, primarily Windows and MacOS. The distinguishing characteristic of Zorin OS is the "Zorin Appearance" app that allows a user to change the desktop layout to feel like Windows, macOS, or Linux.
From the "About" section of the Zoring OS website:
Despite the enormous advantages it has over traditional operating systems, we recognized that the biggest barrier to the success of Linux on desktop computers was that it wasn't user-friendly enough. Linux-based operating systems were generally built for engineers by engineers, with little consideration for regular users. We decided to fix this.
We've designed Zorin OS to have the perfect blend of power and usability for everyone. Zorin OS was built to be as easy as possible, so you won't need to learn a thing to get started thanks to its familiar user interface. It comes loaded with all the apps and tools you need out of the box for browsing the web, working, playing and everything in between.
people/key players involved
Artyom Zorin and Kyrill Zorin
coordination/organization
backing, funding and income (besides users' donations)
Zorin's income stream is the sale of Zorin OS Pro and user donations. According to the "About" section of the website, Zorin is "funded entirely by the community". Zorin Grid is currently under development, and may become a part of the income stream when released.
long-term financial/technical strategies and goals
I don't have information about this question.
target audience
(1) Individual Linux adopters (all editions), (2) business/corporate Linux adopters seeking a familiar desktop environment to reduce training/retraining costs (Pro editions), and (3) schools and educational institutions (Education editions). The business/corporate and education market will be served by Zorin Grid, a tool that that allows organizations to set up, manage, and secure a fleet of Zorin OS-powered computers.
system (linux) basis/technicalities?
Zorin OS is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu LTS. Zorin OS Core, Zorin OS Pro and Zorin OS Education leverage the Gnome desktop. Zorin OS Lite and Zorin Education Lite leverage the XFCE desktop.
Y'know, I appreciate that some people want to know a wee bit about the 'project' , but.....what right does anyone have to know about the financial side of things? What possible need could any potential user possibly have for that kind of information, hmm?
(.....and for those of us who know what we're doing, we can take 'Core', and turn it INTO 'Pro'. IF we want to, that is....)
Mike. 
Yes, there are avenues for legitimate business enterprise to contact the ZorinGroup with inquiries.
Asking on an open forum seems a little odd.
My view is that Alex's questions are exactly the questions that an IT lead making a preliminary investigation into various Linux distros for possible adoption by an organization should ask in order to separate the wheat from the chaff at the preliminary stages of investigation. Particularly so in the case of distros not backed by a corporation like Canonical with a proven track record over a long period of time.
I didn't articulate my questions in quite the same way when I started looking at Zorin OS for a possible use case at a railroad museum where I act as the volunteer IT lead, but I looked at the same issues, including an evaluation of Zorin's prospects for long-term stability and financial viability.
In my view, none of the questions are troublesome or inappropriate, including the questions that touch on financial matters ("backing, funding and income (besides users' donations)" and "long-term financial/technical strategies and goals").
The financial questions go to the heart of Zorin's prospects for long-term stability and financial viability. Long-term stability and financial viability are of no concern to most individual users, who can (and do) simply move on when a distro crashes and burns. That is not the case with an organization considering adopting a distro, however, because organizations invest time, training and resources into adopted technology, and are looking for stability and viability.
I agree with Aravisian. Its not that the questions themselves are wrong in any way, its that they were asked on open board shortly after the user registered to the forum. It is clear that it is an investigation of sorts. But the questions should have been conveyed in a private message to Azorin.