Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The STEM talent pipeline crisis being fueled by the under representation of women, African Americans and Latinos.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Fellowships & Internships
Base 11 students attending partner community colleges are eligible for summer and year-round intern and fellowship programs with our world-class institutional partners.
• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Base 11 students receive hands-on training, education and mentorship with access to the Museum’s collections, facilities, and expertise in aeronautics and aerospace. Specifically, through this 10-week paid internship with the National Air and Space Museum Restoration Internship Program, participating students work with industry-leading preservation experts to manage and conduct research on historic artifacts.
• Engineering Systems Academy at the University of California, Irvine: Base 11 students learn the basics of hands-on engineering and design processes. Students participate in an eight-week paid internship as they learn the fundamental knowledge in Aerospace design, Computer Aided Design, 3-D printing, basic electronics, and fabrication techniques culminating in the construction of a fully operational drone.
• Aerospace Mentorship Program for STEM Students at Caltech: This 10-week paid summer internship program enables Base 11 students to conduct world class research under the guidance of graduate students in the Aerospace Department. Base 11 students experience the process of research as a creative intellectual activity as part of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories at Caltech.
STEM Entrepreneur Program
This semester-long course on STEM entrepreneurship provides students with the training, mentorship and resources they need to catapult their study of science, technology, engineering and math into the creation of their own STEM related business enterprise. Program elements include:
• Giving students direct access to a MIT originated Fab Lab which enables them to innovate and manufacture almost anything.
• Offering students who complete the 16-week course the opportunity to compete in teams in pitch competitions.
Base 11 Innovation Centers
Base 11 Innovation Centers, featuring an MIT-originated Fab Lab, are facilities that enable hands-on, project based learning designed to empower students with the STEM 2.0 skills that are most in-demand by industry. These state-of-the-art facilities feature equipment that allows students to
design and build almost anything they can imagine. Equipment includes:
• 3D printers
• Computer-controlled laser cutter
• Large computer-operated milling machine
• Signcutter
• Precision milling machine (micron resolution)
• Vinyl cutters
• Programming stations
• Testing stations
Base 11 Space Challenge
The Base 11 Space Challenge is a $1 million+ prize for a student-led university team to design, build, and launch a liquid-propelled, single-stage rocket to an altitude of 100 kilometers (the Karman Line) by December 30, 2021. Annual competitions and prizes mark milestone achievements in the process including design of the liquid-fuel rocket, static testing of the engine, and smaller pop-up innovation challenges to be announced. The biggest purse, which is fully funded, is the $1 million prize for launching the rocket to the edge of space.
The mission behind the Base 11 Space Challenge is to dramatically increase the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent in the United States with greater representation and inclusion of women and minorities, while empowering the future workforce with the education and skill-training necessary for jobs in the aerospace and related industries.
Autonomous Systems Engineering Academy
The Autonomous Systems Engineering Academy is hands-on, project based learning program in which students define, build and test a series of mini projects focused on different aspects of engineering, from basic electronics to computer-aided design. The culmination of the mini projects is a fully operational unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone. ASEA began as highly successful freshman course at the Samueli School of Engineering at University of California, Irvine. Base 11 then collaborated with UCI to adapt the course into an intensive summer program for community college students, and later into a high school curriculum that was piloted in Philadelphia, thanks to a grant from the Deloitte Foundation. In 2018, through funding from the Dassault Systemes US Foundation, the program was adapted into a semester-long community college course comprised of 200 hours of lecture, lab and homework. The Base 11 plans to implement the course at more than six community colleges in California and Washington in 2019.
National Network and Regional Ecosystems
Base 11 convenes, facilitates and collorates with disparate partners that have a desire to work together, but have not been able to coalesce in an impactful way. Base 11 fosters thriving STEM ecosystems, which bring together local industry, academia and philanthropy to accelerate the STEM pipeline from schools into the workforce. By forging partnerships with high schools, community colleges, university and community-based organizations and companies, Base 11 propels high potential, low-resource students on a STEM pathway. Program offerings are customized for each ecosystem, but include hands-on, project-based learning opportunities that the students would not have otherwise.
Where we work
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of organizational partners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, Students
Related Program
National Network and Regional Ecosystems
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Base 11 has paid partnerships and MOUs with a number of corporations, colleges, universities, research institutions and nonprofits who share our vision and participate in our efforts.
Number of students enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, Students
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This number reflects the number of students who have participated in a Base 11 sponsored or managed program or completed a hands-on project in a Base 11 Innovation Center.
Number of facilities improved
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students
Related Program
Base 11 Innovation Centers
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Base 11 installs MIT-originated Fab Labs and other high-tech equipment, as well as providing training and expertise to enhance the use of these spaces as STEM accelerators.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We create strategic (integrated) partnerships between industry, academia and philanthropy, which transform high potential low resources students into the STEM trained talent that industry and our country so desperately need.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Base 11 makes connections between industry, academia and students. Base 11 works with community colleges and high schools to identify high-potential, low-resource students with the ability to excel in STEM, but who otherwise lack the resources necessary to follow that path. Base 11 also works with corporations that need skilled STEM workers, and by listening to them, understands that even the students graduating from college with STEM degrees lack some of the critical skills to hit the ground running in the workforce. Finally, Base 11 partners with academic institutions to help develop programs -- from workforce development training to academic fellowships -- that prepare students to immediately succeed in the 21st century workforce.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
FELLOWSHIPS & INTERNSHIPS. Base 11 offers paid summer fellowships for community college students to Caltech, UC Irvine, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. During the academic year, Base 11 offers internships for community college students to Caltech and UC Irvine.
STEM ENTREPRENEUR. Base 11 offers a STEM Entrepreneur curriculum, available online and at community colleges, drawing on experts in the field including Darren Hardy, former publisher of SUCCESS Magazine. Base 11 partners with third-parties to install Fab Labs on college and high school campuses, and then provides training for instructors to make the most of the space.
BASE 11 SPACE CHALLENGE: The Base 11 Space Challenge is a $1 million+ prize for a student-led university team to design, build, and launch a liquid-propelled, single-stage rocket to an altitude of 100 kilometers (the Karman Line) by December 30, 2021. Annual competitions and prizes mark milestone achievements in the process including design of the liquid-fuel rocket, static testing of the engine, and smaller pop-up innovation challenges to be announced. The biggest purse, which is fully funded, is the $1 million prize for launching the rocket to the edge of space. The mission behind the Base 11 Space Challenge is to dramatically increase the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent in the United States with greater representation and inclusion of women and minorities, while empowering the future workforce with the education and skill-training necessary for jobs in the aerospace and related industries.
AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS ENGINEERING ACADEMY: The Autonomous Systems Engineering Academy (ASEA) was developed in partnership with the University of California, Irvine. Through a series of hands-on projects, students learn electronics, programming and computer-aided design as they work to design, build and fly their very own drone. The program includes industry-recognized training on state-of-the-art 3D design platforms. Thanks to funding from corporate foundations, the program has been adapted for high schools and community colleges.
DATA ANALYTICS COURSE: A Deloitte Foundation grant to Base 11 funded the development and implementation of a high school course to give students skills to use technology to help solve complex business problems, and to develop competency in data analytics, data-based decision-making and data visualization — skills that are increasingly in demand. The course lasts the full length of an academic year.
INNOVATION CHALLENGES: Competitions co-designed with sponsors and expert innovation challenge design firm, HeroX. The challenges address social impact and technical issues leveraging the power of the crowd for solutions. Competitors have the opportunity to build out proposals, receive feedback, bring their ideas to fruition, win cash prizes and invaluable opportunites with partners and sponsors such as pitching, interviews, mentorship and in-person trips.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Base 11 set a goal to accelerate 11,000 students on their path to the Victory Circle by 2021. Base 11 achieved that goal one year early, having accelerated more than 11,877 students on their pathways to STEM success by 2020.
In 2020, Base 11 launched the Next Frontier Initiative, a bold plan to empower 100,000+ students, early STEM career adults, and STEM entrepreneurs on their pathway to success in Next Frontier industries by 2030.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Base 11
Board of directorsas of 03/10/2023
Douglas Bender
Base 11
Douglas R. Bender
Onyx Global HR
John Beneventi
Base 11
Regina Stanback Stroud
Peralta Community College District
Al Bunshaft
Dassault Systemes Americas
Teniel Jones
Base 11
Landon V Taylor
Base 11
Frederick Royall
JPMorgan & Chase
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/22/2019GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.