Christy Shaffer, chief executive officer of Inspire Pharmaceuticals, is giving more than her time to the Council for Entrepreneurial Development.
Shaffer, who is the incoming chairman of the CED board of directors, donated shares of stock in Inspire to the organization. Her gifts to the group now total more than $75,000, according to the CED.
“CED is a great organization whose impact on the positive development of our community is tremendous,” Shaffer said in a statement. “CED provides a broad array of seminars, networking functions and other programs that assist executives in all stages of the business lifecycle. CED’s role is critical in helping entrepreneurs start and build companies like Inspire, that are headquartered in this area and that create jobs for Triangle citizens. I am pleased to support CED both financially and by serving as the Board’s Chair-elect, and I hope that other successful entrepreneurs will also support the valuable work that CED does.”
Shaffer’s gift is one of a number made to the CED. Also making donations during the year were: James Newton of the Tri-State Investment Group, Reid Conrad of Commerciality, Robbie Hardy of Silk Road Partners, Keith Mackey of Adaptiqs, and Scott Andrews, a co-founder of SciQuest, and his wife Lauri Andrews.
The CED’S endowment stock campaign continues to grow as well. This program offers startups a chance to contribute stock in firms before they go public. The stock is liquidated and cash donated to CED when a company is sold or has an initial public offering.
Five recent donations increased to 100 the number of people involved in the program since it was launched in 1999.
Making pledges were: Peyton Anderson and Jonathan Gindes of Affinergy; Caterina Gallippi of NDimo; Damon Race of Medicor Pharmaceuticals; and Charles Lee of Polyglot Systems.
CED: www.cednc.org
