Next in our series of Social Enterprise Stories we feature Bryan Nurnberger. Bryan Is the President and Founder of Simply Smiles, a Westport, Connecticut based not-for-profit organization that provides bright futures for impoverished children, their families, and their communities.

In this interview we look at the social and environmental impact being created through the work of Simply Smiles, and take a deeper look into why Simply Smiles chose to incorporate a Connecticut- based Benefit Corporation to support his not-for-profit organization.

Why are you operating in Connecticut?

I live in Connecticut and began the organization, Simply Smiles Inc, here in 2003. Even though I spend 60 or 70 percent of my year traveling, Connecticut is home.

Why did you decide to start a Social Enterprise?

Simply Smiles is a not-for-profit operating in Oaxaca, Mexico and on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. We began selling coffee in 2011 in order to support farmers in an extremely remote area of Mexico. The endeavor was successful and we needed to spin the coffee endeavor off into a separate entity in order to not put our 501c3 status in jeopardy. The main concern was the danger of “unrelated business income” for the charity. With our new “Benefit Corporation”, Simply Smiles Products, we are able to grow our social enterprise coffee company and push all of the profits to support Simply Smiles the charity. It’s a perfect marriage.

What is the community you’re trying to have an impact in?

The original intention was and is to support the 3,000 plus farmers we work with in Mexico. But with the infrastructure of the B-Corp supporting the not-for-profit we are able to create products and generate income that supports all of our programs – both internationally and domestically. But there is another community that benefits, and that is the community of our customers. Social enterprises allow people to fold charitable giving into their everyday lives. This concept is really at the core of social enterprise for me. The idea of “you’re going to buy coffee, so why not buy the coffee that also supports people in need?” A situation like this expands the exposure and fundraising ability of a charity organization in ways more traditional ways of operating cannot. And it gives the consumer the power to make a difference with what they purchase each day.

How do you/will you achieve that impact?

Because we have both entities, the social enterprise and the not-for-profit organization, they work together to achieve our goals. The social enterprise sells coffee. The charity then executes the programs using the funding from coffee sales. Sales of products, especially a product that the customer uses every day, can be a much more predictable and consistent source of funding than traditional fundraising methods. The stability this situation creates allows our programs to be even more effective.

How do you balance purpose and profit?

Profit/money is just a tool you need to build something. Money is the same as a wrench or a screw driver for us. Balance is only a concern when we are trying to decide what needs our attention at this moment. Should we be in the office in Connecticut wrangling the next coffee sale or should we be in a village in Mexico helping farmers to educate their children? Both have a great magnetism that can sometimes leave you in the middle not knowing what direction to go. So internally, for both organizations, we have a rule; every employee needs to spend at least five months a year living and working at our projects in Mexico or on the Reservation. We set up our travel schedule for the year and stick to it. Technology allows this to work. iPhones, laptops, satellite phones… When you spend this much time side-by-side with those your enterprise supports it keeps your motivations high and you don’t risk tainting your focus with the seduction of living to maximize monetary profits.

What have been your biggest challenges thus far?

Well, there are a lot of coffee companies out there so there is a lot of competition. Also, people can be skeptical and you have to be very conscious of transparency so people know, see, and believe that “this coffee really does help kids”. That’s a surmountable obstacle though. One very big challenge is that Connecticut has not yet adopted the Benefit Corporation designation. So we were forced to incorporate in New York while operating in Connecticut. This is quite a hassle that doesn’t need to be necessary. Being Connecticut’s first Benefit Corporation is a big honor, and we hope to be as helpful as we possibly can to help Connecticut’s legislation pass. ReSet is doing great work.

What is the most rewarding thing to you about operating a social enterprise?

That we get to work for a purpose other than our individual desires every single day. Motivations come streaming in from all angles. It’s great to wish there were more hours in the day. It’s incredible to know that the spreadsheet you’re working on is helping to feed a family, educate a little girl, build a home on an Indian Reservation. People count on us, and we have had the privilege and the luck to be able to help those less lucky than we are. This reality is all the reward and motivation one could ask for.

Why do you want to incorporate as a benefit corporation?

We incorporated as a Benefit Corporation because it allows Simply Smiles to operate in a manner that is most efficient and impactful for those we support. The marriage of a not-for-profit with a separate but linked Benefit Corporation give us all the tools we need to fulfill our mission of “providing bright futures for impoverished children”.