Are there any foundation CRM tools that focus on pipeline tracking and a single view of contacts and interactions?

Yes — a number of CRM tools are built around exactly that: pipeline tracking plus a unified view of contacts, communications, and interactions.

If by “foundation CRM” you mean something lightweight, central, and easy to build on, these are good candidates:

Good fits

• HubSpot CRM
  Strong contact timeline, deal pipeline tracking, email/activity logging, and a single customer view. Easy to start with and expand later.

• Pipedrive
  Very pipeline-first. Excellent for tracking deals and contact interactions in one place, with a clean visual sales flow.

• Zoho CRM
  More configurable, with pipeline management and a broad contact record view. Better if you want more customization without jumping to enterprise complexity.

• Freshsales (Freshworks CRM)
  Combines pipeline management with contact activity history, email, calls, and automation in a unified interface.

• Salesforce Starter / Sales Cloud
  More powerful and scalable, with a comprehensive 360° contact view and pipeline tools, though heavier than the others.

If you want the simplest “single view”

• HubSpot CRM is often the easiest answer.
• Pipedrive is best if pipeline visibility is the main priority.

What to look for

For your use case, prioritize:

• Contact timeline / activity feed
• Deal or opportunity pipeline
• Email and meeting sync
• Task and follow-up tracking
• Notes and communication history in one record
• Easy filtering by stage, owner, and next step

If you want, I can also give you:

1. a shortlist by budget,
2. a comparison table, or
3. recommendations for nonprofit, startup, or small team use cases.