Call for Awards

About AAIDD

Review American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities on Great Nonprofits

The nomination period for the year 2025 is now closed!

Purpose

The purpose of AAIDD's annual awards is to recognize those who have made significant contributions that have influenced positive change in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities over an extended period of time.

Eligibility

AAIDD membership is not required for nomination
A candidate may not nominate himself or herself
Recipients may receive no more than one award a year
Posthumous awards are not given (except for nominees who died within the current year)
National AAIDD Board members are not eligible during their term of office
Individuals will not be considered if they have received an award within the last five (5) years

List of Past Awardees

Questions?

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2025 Timeline

2024
November 1 - Deadline for submitting nominations
November/December- The Committee reviews all nominations/applications and makes their selections

2025
January - All awards nominees and fellow applications are notified of the status of their nomination
January - Recipients are announced on our website/social media
June 24 - Awardees are recognized at our Annual Meeting in Washington, DC

Making a Nomination

Incomplete nominations will not be considered by the Awards and Fellowship Committee.

Nominations must be submitted via email, in English, and contain the following:

1. Completed nomination form, including

Nominator’s name, affiliation, title, address, phone number, and email.
Nominee’s name (or contact person if nominee is an organization or program), affiliation, title, address, phone number, and email.

2. A narrative nomination, not to exceed 500 words, addressing the following areas:

Significance of contributions.
Quality and impact of contributions.
Years (duration) of significant effort.
Geographic range of contributions (must be national or international)

3. Resume or vita of nominee.

4. One (1) letter of support (in addition to the nominator's narrative) from a person familiar with the nominee's achievements.

*Please note the letter of support must be from a person other than the nominator.*
The narrative is written by the nominator, the letter is written by a person "seconding" the nomination.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Process

The process of evaluating nominations is:

Step 1: Determination of eligibility for consideration.

Does the nomination satisfy the overall and award-specific guidelines for eligibility? Yes/No

Is the nomination complete? Yes/No

Step 2: Determination of merit.

If a candidate is deemed eligible through Step 1, the merit of his or her nomination should be evaluated with respect to the following categories through the narrative, letter of reference, resume/vita, and any additional required supporting documentation.

Step 3: Selection.

A score of at least 80 is required for further consideration. The committee’s deliberation must result in a slate of award winners. Not all awards will be made in all years. Barring truly extraordinary circumstances, no more than one (1) award shall be made per award category in any year.

Evaluation Form

Criteria	Max
Significance of contribution Not significant (0) Minor significance (10) Significant (15) Very significant(20) Essential (30)	30
Quality and thoroughness of contributions Normal effort (1) Above normal effort (5) Skilled effort (10) Excellent in every way (20	20
Duration of significant effort 3 to 4 years (4) 5 to 7 years (8) 7 to 9 years (12) 10 or more years (14-20)	20
Geographic range of contribution Local (2) State (4) National (20) North American Continent (25) International (30)	30
Total	100