Grants build programs. They rarely build assets.
Most of us have run the grant cycle. You write the application, you deliver the program, you report, and then you write it again next year. It funds the work. It almost never funds ownership.
There is another tool — one that most Black-led organizations in Canada have never been formally offered.
It's called a community bond. Instead of asking people to donate, an organization invites its community to lend. Individuals and institutions put capital in, that capital builds or acquires a revenue-generating asset — usually real estate — and investors are repaid principal plus interest out of what the asset earns. The building stays community-owned. The return stays in community hands.
Pioneered in Ontario by the Jamaican Canadian Association, 10C and the Centre for Social Innovation, the model is now used by nonprofits across the country. This Friday, the Afro Caribbean Business Network is walking a room through exactly how it works — using its own live project as the case study.
A real project, in progress:
ACBN is developing affordable senior housing at 175 Springbank Avenue in Woodstock, Ontario, in partnership with Bethany Lutheran Church and the County of Oxford. The numbers as they stand today:
● $14M in federal funding secured
● $2M secured from the Province of Ontario and the County of Oxford
● $1.5M community bond raise — open now
● 50% of units below market rent
● Full occupancy targeted for December 2027 — and 100% community-owned when complete
$16 million in government capital is already committed. The community bond is the piece that carries the project past construction. ACBN is running that raise in the open transparent to show the structure, legal, marketing, close — and has committed to helping up to five other organizations run their own afterward.
What the session covers:
● What a community bond is, and how it differs from a grant, a donation, or a bank loan
● How land, property, or other assets your organization already holds can become the foundation for raising community capital
● The Woodstock project as a working example — the model, the structure, and what ACBN is learning in real time
● Open discussion — bring your own organization's situation to the table
This is a working session, not a lecture. Hosted by Ryan Knight, Executive Director of ACBN.
Who this is for:
Nonprofit and community organization leaders, church and faith-based leaders, board members, entrepreneurs, and anyone curious about how community capital gets built. If your organization holds an asset— or wants to — this is the room.
SCARBOROUGH TOWN HALL
The Power of a Community Bond Investment
Friday, August 21, 2026 • 12:00 – 1:30 PM ET
CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals, 75 Thermos Road, Toronto
In-person and Zoom access is still open.
Not able to make this session? ACBN is hosting additional town halls in Hamilton, Durham, Toronto, Hamilton, Montreal and Ottawa soon
Join the newsletter to get updates: https:
https://acbncanada.com/acbn-affordable-housing/
About ACBN
Founded in Brampton in 2017, the Afro Caribbean Business Network helps Black entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses through its 3C Framework™ — Clarity, Connection, Capital. ACBN has secured more than $10.7 million in funding since inception, processed over 400 microloan applications, and directly funded 21 entrepreneurs. Every dollar invested through ACBN generates $8.55 in social return. The Woodstock housing development is its first direct real estate
project.
Questions: Ryan Knight, Executive Director — [email protected] | 647-225-3309
