One of the defining moments for ASDC came when the American Evaluation Association (AEA) awarded ASDC with the "2002 Outstanding Evaluation Award" for our work on the Initiative to Strengthen Neighborhood Intergroup Assets. AEA selected ASDC for this award because we demonstrated the usefulness of evaluation to the local funding community, were instrumental in program design, helped to build the capacity of grantees, and generated new knowledge on methods for improving intergroup relations. AEA also expressed that we succeeded in working with funding partners who had negative experiences with evaluation and were able to change their views by providing credible information that was valuable to their work. In addition AEA also quoted the following from letters of recommendation written in support of ASDC's nomination:

• "[They] have wisdom as well as technique and are able to combine disinterested observation with a passionate mission."
• "They did not ignore critical observations but were almost always able to couch these in helpful ways."
• "Their honesty and candor about their methods and findings allows us to see the initiative as it is, not as we desire it to be."

For more information on this Initiative please see the Community Foundations/Intergroup Relations Program web site.