In the 1980s, Christopher Sikes’ piano repair and tuning business needed financing and technical assistance, but no bank would talk to him — the business was too small. So he brought together bankers and community-development professionals and in 1990 formed WMEF: a loan fund serving five economic development agencies in western Massachusetts. In 1993 WMEF was one of the first microenterprise lenders funded by the Small Business Administration. In 1997 the Treasury Department certified it as a Community Development Financial Institution. By 2003 it was Massachusetts’ largest SBA microlender, and Microenterprise Lender of the Year. In 15 years, WMEF has loaned over $5 million, creating many businesses (like the beauty salon pictured opposite) and hundreds of jobs; its average startup loan is $16,535, and it helps find co-investors. From 2003-04, its loans increased from 25 totaling $681,700 to 28 totaling $880,740: a 29% increase (program costs rose 8%, administrative costs only 3.3%). In July 2003, similar funds’ average cost-per-dollar loaned was $1.63; WMEF’s was 91¢, and a year later it was 76¢. The White House wants to eliminate SBA’s Microloan Program, so WMEF is seeking personal donations. Wouldn’t you enjoy becoming a microlender?