Four Pines Fund
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- Four Pines Fund funds system-level work to expand access to effective suicide care, nationally and with a priority on Vermont, so a small organisation should first check that its work addresses structural barriers such as inadequate training, fragmented care or inconsistent quality standards.
- The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests and gives by invitation only, so an organisation without an existing introduction should not send a cold application.
- Most of its grants are modest: about 8 in 10 of its grants to organisations fall between $3,000 and $410,000, and half of its 29 grants across its two most recent filings were about $120,000 or less, so a request near that level fits the typical grant, although its largest grant was about $455,000.
- Its funding is relationship-led, since 75% of its grant dollars to organisations in the latest filing went to organisations it had also funded in the year before, and it considers it essential that funded organisations value and centre lived experience.
- Any approach should show evidence-based practice or a plan to test promising innovative approaches, because the foundation works alongside grantees to design, build and evaluate programmes.
Overview
Four Pines Fund is a US private foundation based in Burlington, VT.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2025, TY2024, TY2023) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
Four Pines Fund supports organisations and initiatives that take a system-level approach to expanding access to effective suicide care, nationally and in Vermont. Its grantmaking covers direct services, leadership development and workforce training, research and innovation, organisational capacity, system capacity, and advocacy and public policy. It backs work addressing structural barriers such as inadequate training, fragmented care systems and inconsistent quality standards. The Fund collaborates with grantees to design, build and evaluate programmes, and promotes evidence-based practices while generating insight into promising approaches. It values clinical expertise and lived experience, and considers it essential that funded organisations also value and centre lived experience. Its Vermont work advances sustainable solutions while informing its national strategy.
Themes
- Direct suicide care
- Leadership development
- Research and innovation
- Organisational capacity building
- System-level change
- Advocacy and public policy
Geographic Focus
US. Priority: Vermont.
How to apply
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2025 filing, 75% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2024 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2024 and TY2025 filings, half of its 29 grants to organisations were about $120,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- It works alongside grantees to design, build and evaluate programmes, tailoring support to each grantee’s needs.
- It prioritises suicide care with a strong evidence base.
- It prioritises testing and evaluating promising innovative approaches that are not yet evidence based.
- It considers it essential that funded organisations value and centre lived experience.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2023–2025.
Grant dollars by state
1 other state: <1%
- The largest single recipient received 55% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2025, 75% of grant dollars went to organisations Four Pines Fund had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 16 grants in tax year 2025 by size
Median $135k (tax year 2025)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care · To support the vermont consultation & psychiatry access program$437,7962025 tax year
- Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care · To support suicide-care improvements in vermont emergency departments$409,7802025 tax year
- Now Matters Now · To support sustainability planning, program delivery, and outcome monitoring for peer support groups$350,0002025 tax year
- Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care · To support independent provider training in evidence-based therapeutic models for suicide care$195,4372025 tax year
- Education Development Center · To support strategic planning to strengthen training for implementing evidence-based suicide care in health-care systems$187,5002025 tax year
- Umass Chan Medical School Foundation Inc · To support planning activities to advance national strategies for implementing evidence-based suicide care in emergency and crisis settings$166,6672025 tax year
- Education Development Center · To support dissemination of a support film for parents following a childs suicide attempt$159,0002025 tax year
- Pathways Vermont · To support purchase of a learning management system and staffing of a training manager to strengthen peer support workforce$142,5402025 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Clara G Hage — Director, Secretary
- William L Gottesman — Director, Treasurer
- Debra L Gottesman — Dir.,Pres.
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 tax year | $26,485 | $0 | $1,014,546 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $2,301,232 | $1,708,194 | $3,310,259 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
| 2025 tax year | $3,804,542 | $2,751,313 | $274,760 | Filing for 2025 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
🎯 You've done the research. Now write an application they can't refuse.
Hinchilla combines funder's specific priorities with your organisation's past successful grants and AI analysis of what reviewers want to see.
Data privacy and security by default
Your organisation's past successful grants and experience
AI analysis of what reviewers want to see
A compelling draft application in 10 minutes instead of 10 hours
Spotted something that needs correcting? Let us know
At a glance
Applying to Four Pines Fund?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- media@fourpines.org
- grants@fourpines.org
- Burlington, VT
- fourpines.org
Applying to Four Pines Fund?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- media@fourpines.org
- grants@fourpines.org
- Burlington, VT
- fourpines.org