I'm one of the founding members and main organisers of 1894.
Regarding your first paragraph
@pace89 and
@Gary James have both given good responses which are why we chose that particular year for a name. We chose the year of Manchester City's formation as opposed to something different (such as Union Bears at Rangers, Green Brigade at Celtic, Holmesdale Fanatics at Crystal Palace) as we wanted to focus specifically on the history of our club and to improve the atmosphere in a traditional British way. It was also a bit of a 'f*ck you' to people who thought we had no history as a club.
We don't act on behalf of all city fans. The official supporters club and City Matters fill those positions. We do try and organise City fans though. For example fundraising for displays, doing the displays on a match day, organising bus welcomings, organising protests etc. If you're interested in anything specific please ask.