Pierce Atwood Sponsor of UNH ECenter’s Summer Seed Grant Program

Pierce Atwood LLP today announced its sponsorship of The University of New Hampshire’s Peter T. Paul Entrepreneurship Center (ECenter), and its funding of the 2019 Summer Seed Grant program, now named the “Summer Seed Grant, Sponsored by Pierce Atwood.”

Pierce Atwood partner Jamie Baker, who works with emerging, later-stage, and publicly-traded companies throughout their life cycle, stated, “We expanded our support of UNH’s ECenter and the Summer Seed Grant this year based upon the significant impact we have seen the program have on students from all colleges on campus. Student companies have launched and are revenue generating already.” Adding, “We look to maximize our philanthropy. In addition to our financial support, we also provide the ECenter with pro bono legal work for student companies outside of the Summer Seed Grant. This is a valuable benefit for students, but equally enjoyable for me and my colleagues to work with smart and driven UNH students. The ECenter has grown to be a significant asset not only to UNH, but to the state of New Hampshire as well.”

ECenter Executive Director Ian Grant stated, “We are honored that Pierce Atwood has committed its charitable funding to have a direct impact on student entrepreneurs. They are an amazing firm to work with and we appreciate them providing legal work for students who want to launch their ideas into companies. It takes a team to launch a startup and Pierce Atwood is part of that team.”

In addition, Pierce Atwood is providing legal services via our Catalyst Program to the winners of UNH’s Social Venture Innovation Challenge (a program from the Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise) and the Holloway Prize Competition (a program from the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics).

The Summer Seed Grant initiative invites all UNH students to submit applications for grant funding to take their entrepreneurial ideas to the next level through the development of prototypes, business models, and/or companies during the summer months. 

In lieu of needing to find a summer job, the Summer Seed Grant provides a $3,500 stipend to each of four students to work on their idea for nine weeks. Students must be based out of the ECenter and receive coaching as they work on their growth plans.