The Board of Directors for the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance (Alliance) and Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago (PHIMC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which expresses their intent to merge in December 2018. The two organizations have been meeting for the last several months to explore a potential partnership and are excited about this new endeavor. In the Spring of 2017, following the announcement of the loss of significant grant funding from the State of Illinois, the Alliance met with funders and expressed their intention to look for an organizational partner that would help support the administrative operations while maintaining and expanding the programmatic outreach of the statewide organization. Since January, the Alliance has met with local and national organizations to explore a partnership that would provide long term program sustainability and a stronger infrastructure while preserving the essence of the organization’s longstanding core work of policy, public education, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth organizing. In late Spring, it became clear that a partnership would be mutually beneficial between the Alliance and PHIMC. Over the summer, the two organizations have worked on a due diligence process and have executed an MOU with the intention of merging in December of this year. Once the due diligence process is completed, the Alliance and PHIMC expect to sign legally binding documents and begin integrating operations.