Programs & Services

"Having access to BASE resources has provided us with a tremendous advantage during our start-up phase. The interactions and support they've supplied have been invaluable. It was a great opportunity to meet people in the industry who were willing to help us."

— Kari Leech
Co-founder, WaterPLUS

"By bringing together mentors, who are experts in a range of business and sustainability practices, and sustainable entrepreneurs, whose ventures are at different stages of development, the BASE program is catalyzing a community for sustainable entrepreneurship in North Carolina. I highly recommend the program for entrepreneurs and others engaged in the space."

— Beth Richardson
The Green Bride Guide

BASE is the first accelerator in North Carolina designed specifically to support businesses that address the triple bottom line: financial profitability, social equity and environmental sustainability. The program connects sustainable ventures to a range of business development resources with the goal of accelerating their growth and impact.

BASE will provide members with free access to:

Monthly workshops, training, and networking sessions. More
A portfolio of pro bono hours from BASE Resource Partners. More
Mentorship by sustainable entrepreneurs and business development experts.

BASE will also connect members to:

UNC students to work on collaborative projects and for internships

Program Partners

B Lab is developing an organizing platform to accelerate the development of purpose-driven capital and consumer markets. B Corporations are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. BASE has partnered with B Lab to offer members an opportunity to measure and benchmark their social and environmental performance using the B Ratings System . The B Ratings System is a comprehensive, user-friendly, online survey which evaluates your company's impact on all stakeholders (Employees, Community, Environment, Consumers, and Governance). As a triple bottom line business accelerator, BASE is requiring all business members to take the B Survey as a condition of membership. BASE will then be able to consolidate our members' performance and generate reports on our community's social and environmental impact.

NC LEAP is the premier provider of pro bono business and transactional law services for entrepreneurs operating in the state's low-wealth communities, or employing persons who live in such areas. NC LEAP also serves as a network through which the state's business law community can work with entrepreneurs to address systematic legal barriers to economic development in North Carolina's low-wealth communities. BASE is working with NC LEAP to provide quarterly legal clinics to BASE Members.