https://www.designingopendemocracy.com/news/?topic=community-business Major and notable news from organisations working on Community Business across the Democracy Landscape, over the past year. Drawn from each organisation's curated, sourced timeline — not a firehose. en https://www.designingopendemocracy.com/assets/dodlogo_transparent.png https://www.designingopendemocracy.com/news/?topic=community-business https://bonds.coop/the-castlemaine-hub-community-debentures-in-action/#:~:text=When%20the%20%E2%80%98Hub%E2%80%99%2C%20a%20beautiful%20heritage%20building%20in%20Castlemaine%2C%20faced%20the%20risk%20of%20being%20sold%20to%20unsympathetic%20developers%2C%20the%20community%20feared%20it%20would%20disrupt%20the%20small%20enterprises%20and%20community%20organisations%20it%20was%20home%20to.%20But%20they%20needed%20%241.95%20million%20to%20secure%20the%20building. urn:uuid:971313b6-82cc-59ff-b1b1-1a4c58a9cd34 Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 <p><strong>Notable</strong> — Case study on a notable community-ownership financing model</p> <p>Educational case study (by co-founder Antony McMullen) explaining member-debenture financing via the Castlemaine Community Investment Co-operative&#x27;s real 2025 campaign, which raised $2 million to buy the heritage Hub building out of the speculative property market — not a claim that Co-operative Bonds ran the campaign itself.</p> <blockquote>When the ‘Hub’, a beautiful heritage building in Castlemaine, faced the risk of being sold to unsympathetic developers, the community feared it would disrupt the small enterprises and community organisations it was home to. But they needed $1.95 million to secure the building.</blockquote> <p>Landscape profile: <a href="https://www.designingopendemocracy.com/organisations/cooperative-bonds/">Co-operative Bonds</a> · <a href="https://bonds.coop/the-castlemaine-hub-community-debentures-in-action/#:~:text=When%20the%20%E2%80%98Hub%E2%80%99%2C%20a%20beautiful%20heritage%20building%20in%20Castlemaine%2C%20faced%20the%20risk%20of%20being%20sold%20to%20unsympathetic%20developers%2C%20the%20community%20feared%20it%20would%20disrupt%20the%20small%20enterprises%20and%20community%20organisations%20it%20was%20home%20to.%20But%20they%20needed%20%241.95%20million%20to%20secure%20the%20building.">Source</a></p> <p><small>Australia · Cooperative · Economic Democracy · Workplace Democracy · Community Business · Worker Cooperatives</small></p> Notable Australia milestone Cooperative Economic Democracy Workplace Democracy Community Business Worker Cooperatives