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Venture Capitalist Gives $108,000+ to CED Endowment Fund
Bernard Gray, Gray Ventures Makes First Cash Donation to CED's Endowment Fund
Established in the spring of 1999, the CED endowment fund was conceived to support the non-profit's mission to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle area. The endowment, once fully funded, will permit CED to provide services to the Triangle's entrepreneurial community, in perpetuity.
"The Triangle-area's economy is being driven more and more by entrepreneurial ventures. CED has the unique opportunity to have a greater impact on the entrepreneurial health of the Triangle than ever before. This gift, and the endowment as a whole, will help CED provide services to entrepreneurs in the Triangle for years to come. Thanks to Berny Gray, CED is one very important step closer to permanently serving entrepreneurs," said Pam Newton, CED director of development & membership.
Gray's gift represents the first cash gift for the new endowment fund, which, combined with pledged stock from numerous Triangle-based entrepreneurs, will permit CED to respond to the needs of the area's entrepreneurs as those needs change and evolve. In February, CED and SciQuest.com celebrated SciQuest's IPO success and the 5000 shares of stock that SciQuest's four co-founders pledged to CED's endowment fund. Peyton Anderson, CED Board member, and co-founder has since taken on the role of endowment chairman.
CED's mentoring and networking programs have helped entrepreneurs since 1984. In 1999, CED topped 3000 members, representing 1000 entrepreneurial companies, investment and professional service firms, making it the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the United States.
Thus far, CED has received 49 pledges from founders of Triangle entrepreneurial companies, which includes 5000 shares of stock from SciQuest.com's four co-founders, and shares from other successful Triangle-area companies, some of which have recently filed IPOs, including Inspire Pharmaceuticals and OpenSite Technologies.
About Gray Ventures: Gray Ventures objective is to invest in early stage companies in the general area of Information Technology including intellectual property or devices that enable or deliver voice, data, or video independent of reliance on specific language or platform. Current portfolio companies include (Atlanta and RTP): Advanced Charger Technology, Inc.; Celotek Corp.; Electrifier, Inc.; Foveon Corporation; Ganymede Software, Inc.; IntraSoft, Inc.; MircoMass Communications, Inc.; Monorail, Inc.; Orologic, Inc.; SciQuest.com, Inc.; Synchrologic, Inc.; and Technauts, Inc.
About CED
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located at the CED Entrepreneurship Center in Research Triangle Park, NC, was formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs. CED sponsors annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED also offers the FastTrac entrepreneurial training program, youth programs and other outreach programs.
CED is a private, non-profit organization and is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 3,000 members representing 1000 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms.