The Social Enterprise Alliance is the product of the merger of two North American organizations:

In November 1998, six nationally known advocates of social entrepreneurship (Jerr Boschee, Jed Emerson, Gary Mulhair, John Riggan, Billy Shore, and Richard Steckel) convened a "gathering” in Colorado Springs of people interested in the field.  Non-profit entrepreneurs, who previously had operated in isolation, came together for the first time to discuss best practices, share knowledge and advocate for a national non-profit social venture agenda.

The 2nd National Gathering for Social Entrepreneurs was convened in Miami in April 2000 and continued the work of the first by providing workshops designed to train participants about non-profit revenue generating strategies, best practices, and the assessment of social benefits. The 2nd Gathering also offered an institute to orient newcomers in the field.

Though pleased with the learning opportunities available at these gatherings, attendees realized that their needs and the growing interest in social entrepreneurship would require more than an annual gathering.  Participants voted to create a 501(c)(3) organization that would "encourage support for not-for-profit organizations and their for-profit enterprises that employ earned income strategies to achieve social objectives and to attract other such organizations to this means of service.” 

In November 2001 at the 3rd National Gathering in Seattle, a national membership association was officially launched. The NGSE elected a Coordinating Committee to serve as its board of trustees, adopted a multi-year business plan, hired a President and Member Services Director.

SeaChange was founded in 2000 with headquarters in San Francisco and branch offices in Seattle and Washington DC .  It evolved from a 1998 Wingspread leadership summit and a 1999 global research effort funded by the Kellogg, Kauffman and Echoing Green Foundations.  Results of that effort were clear: social entrepreneurs wanted greater access to the financial and human capital of the business and philanthropic sectors, while business leaders and social investors wanted a broader menu of choices to whom they could offer support and partnership.

SeaChange was created to fill this void and to connect those with the interest, experience and means to support the growth and development of social entrepreneurship.  It emerged as an entrepreneurial nonprofit marketplace, facilitating transactions initiated by social investors interested in providing capital and collaboration to nonprofit social entrepreneurs. 

As the NGSE considered ways to increase members' access to capital and SeaChange contemplated methods of convening social entrepreneurs, leaders of the two organizations became increasingly aware of the synergy to be achieved through joint efforts.  In August of 2002, NGSE members broadly endorsed the concept, and the respective boards of directors officially approved the merger, creating the Social Enterprise Alliance.