Actually a non-profit organisation seems better than a foundation for a live project like Pike. A foundation is typically used by dead people who insist they must have a say in how their money is spent. This means that the charter of a foundation is a write-once regret-forever affair. Hence it is very important to get right at the first try.
A non-profit organisation is on the other hand easy to create and can be adapted according to the wishes of its live, active members.
There already exists a non-profit organisation where Pike was born (or at least its direct precursor), that has handled money ear-marked for projects responsibly in the past and where most of the swdish Pike developers are still members: Lysator. Has anyone checked with the current board if Lysator can help solve the current problem?