Community based suicide prevention begins with a collaborative, engaged approach in which decisions are shared and coalitions are created towards a common measurable goal. Some efforts are organic, growing directly from the community. Equally common are efforts that begin outside the community, from a public health approach to suicide prevention that begins at the state or federal level. This presentation explores two community selection processes from Colorado and Wyoming. In Colorado, the process began as a grant-funded project “modeled after best practices in Community Based Participatory Research.” Together with Veterans, is a “community-engaged process for identifying, selecting, and implementing evidence based and promising practices with the goal of reduction of suicide”. In Wyoming, the Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming is dedicated to strengthening the prevention efforts around suicide and other conditions. PMO is committed to local, community-based decision making through active community coalitions. Through “research, data and valued partnerships, they empower our communities to steer their own prevention efforts surrounding suicide”. Together with Veterans set-out to systematically identify communities for collaboration. Data came from a range of sources; formal sources like the state health department and National Violent Death Registry to informal, scanning local newspapers for suicide. PMO identified community collaborations through a community needs assessment. The assessment focused on risk and protective factors of suicide and the root causes and community conditions associated with substance-abuse and tobacco use. Stakeholders and community partners were identified, invited to examine the data, review prevention science, and select evidence-based strategies in community change.