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2018 40 Under 40 Winners

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Rebecca Rymes

St. Vincent’s HealthCare Foundation
Jacksonville, FL

Why is a 40 under 40 winner

  1. She has increased St. Vincent’s total grant award dollars raised fivefold as compared to previous years.
  2. Rebecca, on behalf of St. Vincent’s, won the coveted and highly competitive Advance Innovation and Promote Healthy Solutions multi-year grant from the Florida Blue Foundation.
  3. She has brought in eight new grant making organizations who are now enthusiastic supporters of St. Vincent’s Mission. The largest of these was for more than $72,000 to expand a mobile health dental program.
  4. While at Jacksonville University, she generated a $1 million gift towards enhancing the technology capabilities within the College of Business.

Q & A

  1. How did you get into health care philanthropy?

    I got into health care philanthropy by chance.  Previously, I had been working in higher education where I was co-authoring some scholarly articles, and I realized I wanted to do more writing.  When the opportunity arose to become a grant writer with the St. Vincent’s HealthCare Foundation, it seemed to be an excellent fit, as well as a good chance to utilize my writing prowess.  In my role with St. Vincent’s, not only do I get to write for a living, but am also able to raise funds for a variety of wonderful life-saving programs and healthcare technologies.

  2. Why did you choose to make health care philanthropy your career?

    As the Grant Administrator with St. Vincent’s HealthCare Foundation, what I have enjoyed most of all is learning the impact stories of people we have helped through our philanthropy.  From the struggling single mother whose children we provided essential school physicals so they could enroll in classes, to the elderly man with a life-threatening blood clot whose early diagnosis saved his life – these vulnerable people are the reason I have made a career in health care philanthropy.

  3. What has been the #1 factor in your career success so far?

    I believe the number one factor to my success has been my drive to continually improve processes.  From streamlining data and story collection, to ensuring every dollar is used in the most impactful way, there are always ways to get better and to help guarantee that our philanthropic outreach is maximized.

  4. What is your greatest passion and why?

    My greatest passion is to help make a difference in the world. I have always wanted to know that my work matters, and that is a large part of what is so great about working in health care philanthropy.  Knowing all the effort that goes into raising every dollar is invaluable, because those funds give struggling people in my community a second chance at health and hope.

  5. What are your future aspirations?

    6. My future aspirations do not lie within any office or title, but instead are an extension of my greatest passion – to make a difference in the world.  Simply put, I aspire to continue making other people feel more healthy and happy through the philanthropic work I currently do.

Rebecca Rymes

Fun Fact:

I love ballet and tap dance. In fact, I met my husband through dance, and we performed a tap piece as our first dance at our wedding earlier this year.