Introduction:  The GNOME project has built a complete free and easy-to-use desktop environment for the user, as well as a powerful application framework for the software developer. GNOME is part of the GNU project, and is free software (some times referred to as open source software.) 

The GNOME Foundation will work to further the goals of the GNOME project.

To achieve these goals, the Foundation will coordinate releases of GNOME and determine which projects are part of GNOME. The Foundation will act as an official voice for the GNOME project, providing a means of communication with the press and with commercial and noncommercial organizations interested in GNOME software. The foundation may produce educational materials and documentation to help the public learn about GNOME software. In addition, it may sponsor GNOME-related technical conferences, represent GNOME at relevant conferences sponsored by others, help create technical standards for the project and promote the use and development of GNOME software. 
 

Board of Directors
The GNOME Foundation is run by a Board of Directors, which was elected by the entire GNOME community and consists of Miguel de Icaza, Bart Decrem, Jim Gettys, John Heard, Raph Levien, Federico Mena Quintero, Dan Mueth, Havoc Pennington, Maciej Stachowiak, Owen Taylorand Daniel Veillard.
 

Advisory Board
In addition to the Foundation's Board of Directors, there is also an Advisory Board, made up of organizations and companies that are supporting GNOME. The Advisory Board has no decision-making authority but provides a vehicle for its members to communicate with the Board of Directors. Current Advisory Board members include Borland, Compaq, Debian Project, Free Software Foundation, Gnumatic, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, MandrakeSoft, Object Management Group, Red Flag Linux, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, TurboLinux, VA Linux and Ximian.
 

Other Foundation-Related Materials:

Complete election results and related materials
Frequently Asked Questions
The list of all registered members
Foundation Charter 
Press release announcing the creation of the foundation
Mailing lists: 
foundation-announce@gnome.org(archive| subscription page) is for foundation-related announcements. 
foundation-list@gnome.org(archive| subscription page) is for all foundation-related discussions, including discussions about candidacy statements. Minutes from board meetings are also posted here.