Trisquel is independent of the FSF just like ThinkPenguin is independent of
Trisquel. On the other hand there are relationships between FSF, Trisquel,
ThinkPenguin, and other projects/companies. Even Ubuntu, a distribution with
non-free enables Trisquel.
Trisquel does comply with FSF guidelines on free software and does offer some
assistance to the project. For instance one of the mirrors which hosts
Trisquel is run by the FSF. I don't believe the FSF offers any financial
assistance to the Trisquel project though. It is not a FSF operation.
To say that the FSF though is not at least partly enabling Trisquel's
existence though would be false. The FSF Foundation Latin America for
instance maintains Linux-libre. There are also many others. Even a company
like Atheros is enabling Trisquel's existence by releasing code. Where other
companies only release drivers Atheros has worked with us and others to
enable support under free distribution.
There is a lot of interaction between projects, companies, and organizations
like the FSF although most are run independently of each other. There is even
a legal organization independent of the FSF geared toward free software
issues. The FSF is probably the largest supporter of the various projects at
this time. They have raised the most money for strictly free software
projects of any organization that I'm aware of. A number of these projects
are directly under FSF control.
