In 1997 ACY opened its doors as an initiative of The Colorado Trust (a private foundation) and Search Institute (SM) a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth, and communities.

ACY was the first statewide initiative established with the Search Institute's framework of the 40 Developmental Assets (TM). Currently, there are 19 such initiatives around the country.

In 2000, ACY became a 501(c)(3) organization.