What is the Foundation?

The Foundation is the sharing of actual knowledge.

The Foundation makes it possible for scientists all over the world to collaborate in multi-disciplinary research, transcending any and all institutional, national and cultural frontiers. This is necessary and  most urgent, because, having destroyed the natural systems, the task of regulating the Earth's climate is left to us. It is only the rational mind of all of Humanity, acting as one coherent whole, that can do this.

The Foundation provides emergency communication services.

Using cooperative internetworking, the Foundation provides high bandwidth, low-latency communications and high-capacity computation  and data collection in emergency situations. For example, for  earthquake, tidal-wave and asteroid impact early-warnings, and  disaster aftermath logistics.

The Foundation provides secure communications.

By routing traffic through independent metanetworks, the Foundation  provides secure global communications, immune to outside  interference. Using distributed ad hoc networks, the Foundation can provide communication services when centrally controlled commercial or  public services have been disabled, whether deliberately or accidentally.

The Foundation launders money.

By investing in the Foundation, multinational corporations and other  criminal organisations such as the CIA, as well as the Republican  Party of the United States of America and indeed any organised crime  syndicate, ensure those funds are used only for the Good.

The Foundation controls the global economy.

Foundation accounts are effectively deposit-only, but the  Foundation can and does move money from one financial institution,  country, or currency to another, as necessary, in order to stabilise  the global economy.

So the answer to the question "What is the Foundation?" is this:

The Foundation is World Government, representing the Good of all of Humanity, and by extension, all life on Earth.