Centre for Community Capital Newsletter May 2026

In this month’s newsletter:

• Join our upcoming Understand Community Capital training

• Be part of designing Community Investment Funds for Australia

• Improve your community benefit funding approaches and outcomes

• Join Economic Development Australia’s webinar on community capital

• Explore community-led approaches to natural capital and environmental markets

• Unlock generosity with Minderoo Foundation

Upcoming Training: Community Capital & Wealth Building

Our Community Capital & Wealth Building Learning Series kicks off in June!

It is online and open to all. You don’t need any prior experience.

Community leaders and organisations - Build your capacity to generate, access, own and govern the assets, services and infrastructure that support local priorities and long-term community wellbeing.

Local councils and regional development organisations - Build the community and economic conditions needed for communities to shape, build, own and fund what matters locally.

Government, service and supporting organisations - Design policies, programs, services and systems that lock in wellbeing, resilience and prosperity.

Businesses, investors and philanthropists - Explore inclusive business models, partnerships and services that create shared value with communities.

For more information and to register: CLICK HERE

Opportunities to Participate in the Community Investment Fund Program

We are now seeking interested communities, investors and government to participate in the next stage of design, testing and readiness building for a national network of community investment funds.

These funds are being designed to help:

• Communities pool and participate in local investment to help fund and own local projects, infrastructure, housing, enterprises and other community priorities;

• Investors access aggregated, place-based investment opportunities connected to real local projects and long-term community outcomes;

• Government create the enabling infrastructure needed for stronger local prosperity, participation, wealth creation and long-term resilience.

For more information and to register.

Supporting Better Community Benefit Approaches

With the rise of community benefit funding and development contributions across Australia, the Centre for Community Capital has been supporting communities, companies and partners to explore approaches that create stronger long-term community and economic outcomes.

We support this work by helping organisations and communities understand the range of community benefit approaches available — from traditional grant programs through to longer-term legacy and investment models. We also assist with strategy development, governance approaches, community participation and structures that support long-term local benefit.

As major infrastructure, renewable energy and development projects continue to grow across Australia, there is increasing opportunity to design community benefit approaches that strengthen local economic participation, prosperity, resilience and equity over time, while supporting communities to build greater capability, ownership and self-reliance.

For more information.

Upcoming Webinar for with Economic Development Australia

We’re pleased to be part of the Economic Development Australia webinar series.

This session will explore practical approaches to strengthening local economies through community capital — a practical framework that helps economic development practitioners better understand their local economy from a capital and systems perspective.

This is important because strong local economies are built not only through investment attraction, but through the ability of communities to generate, own, govern, retain and reinvest wealth locally.

This webinar is ideal for economic development practitioners, local and state government, regional development organisations, planners, social enterprises and researchers.

For more information and to register.

Community-led natural capital and environmental market approaches

As part of our broader work on Community Capital, we also support communities to better understand and engage with natural capital and environmental markets.

We are proud to be supporting a new initiative emerging across the NSW North Coast: Tree Farmer.

The Centre for Community Capital is facilitating the Tree Farmer Learning Network. A local group of landholders, farmers and advisers exploring how to create locally led and relevant natural capital and environmental markets.

We are excited to support this important work and the growing leadership emerging across the region.

More information about Tree Farmer

It was also pleasure to present at the Farming on the Fringe event exploring the future of agriculture and regional economies.

Our session focused on helping participants better understand natural capital and environmental markets, and participate more actively in shaping how these systems operate locally.

As natural capital and environmental markets continue to evolve, it is important that communities can participate meaningfully in shaping these systems to support long-term regional resilience and benefit.

Farming on the Fringe event information

Unlocking Generosity

Australia could leave up to $12 billion in potential charitable donations unrealised by 2030, due to a lack of professional conversations about giving.

Minderoo Foundation invite you to join their national webinar on 15 June at 1:00pm AEST, featuring Kristen Stevenson (Minderoo), economist Brad Ruting and Catherine Brooks (Equitable Philanthropy).

Together, they will explore the significant intergenerational wealth transfer expected in Australia over the next two decades.

This session will introduce the findings, opportunities, and recommendations from the Unlocking Generosity Report, highlighting the need to strengthen and professionalise philanthropy advice and fundraising practices.

For more information and to register