Partnerships

The Bunya Fund, Australia’s first co-operative development fund, continues to foster innovation and growth across the co-operative and mutual movement.

Co-operatives are a powerful tool for community-driven economic development in which community members can invest in and benefit from an enterprise that addresses local economic, social, cultural and environmental priorities.

Co-operatives are distinct because they are owned and democratically controlled by their members, who are often the users or workers of the organisation. Unlike traditional businesses driven by profit for external shareholders, co-operatives focus on meeting the needs of their members and the broader community.

There are 3 million co-ops around the world – with 1.2 billion members. Co-ops employ 280 million people across the globe – that’s 10 per cent of the world’s working population.  In 2025, the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives (IYC 2025) theme is Cooperatives build a better world, putting a spotlight on how the co-operative model is an essential in accelerating efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

In Australia there are limited funding opportunities for early-stage co-operatives. This is where The Bunya Fund steps in.

Unlike traditional grants, The Bunya Fund provides critical seed funding for co-operatives, empowering them to innovate, scale and make lasting impacts without reliance on ongoing grants

Fund recipients (‘Bunyans’) regularly compliment the Fund for being able to support their work in a highly flexible way that respects and reinforces co-operative principles. This approach is essential to support new and emerging innovation for community-driven co-operative enterprise.

The co-operative model has championed grassroots, place-based community and economic development, empowering community participation and investment for over 180 years. Supported by co-operative industry peak Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals with Australian Unity, Bank Australia, CBH Group and APS Benefits Group, the Bunya Fund is uniquely positioned to drive sustainable, community-driven enterprises.

The Bunya Fund is actively seeking collaboration with philanthropic, impact investment and charitable partners to amplify our impact, fostering innovation and enabling local communities across Australia to thrive.

Round three awarded $96,000 to five diverse projects, including:

GNP360 Co-operative

Bunya Fund support for strategic planning allowed the co-operative to secure an additional $250,000 grant towards revitalisation of a community-owned hotel in Gnowangerup, Western Australia. Renovations include refurbished rooms and plans for a commercial-grade kitchen that will revitalise the hotel as a social and economic hub for the town. Read our interview with GNP360’s Cassey Beeck.

Caboolture Community Work Co-operative

Bunya Fund support for marketing  and mentoring from award-winning (including Australia’s Best Social Enterprise – Large – 2020) Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative, this initiative empowers people with cognitive disabilities through dignified employment opportunities in a coffee shop venture.

The Rural Woman Co-operative

Developing a place-based community wealth-building model in Lightning Ridge, NSW, this project combines innovative legal and financial frameworks to empower women and support sustainable development and has the potential to catalyse local investment.

The Reinvigorating Rural Australia: A Co-operative Approach to Building Community Connection, Resilience and Shared Prosperity handbook was initiated by The Bunya Fund and the CBH Group as an expression of their commitment to helping regional communities thrive using the co-operative model.

This handbook seeks to provide guidance and inspiration for implementing the co-operative model by drawing upon the stories, tools and experiences of a diverse range of regional communities across Australia, their innovative residents and their new co-operative enterprises.