A year of exponential growth — help us meet higher demand

Dear Friend,

In the autumn of 2019, when the crises of 2020 were not yet on the horizon, the Forward took the opportunity to step back and reflect on our priorities and goals to help guide us through the new era of our digital reinvention.

Jodi Rudoren had recently joined as Editor in Chief, and one of the first things we did together was articulate the Forward’s vision, mission, and values. We focused on our vision of supporting a vibrant, connected global Jewish community. We honed in on our mission of reporting on cultural, social, and political issues that matter to readers of all ages. We centered our values of integrity, courage, independence, accountability, and Yiddishkeit. With those in hand, we set out to better serve our readers.

Then COVID happened and like most, we were forced to recalibrate. Our vision, mission, and values resonated front and center in the midst of the pandemic and social upheaval. Our journalists published more than ever, keeping you informed and connected with breaking news, first-person narratives, community-focused stories, and virtual conversations with leading experts. And now, at the end of 2020, our plans paid dividends.

We reached incredible new milestones in 2020. This year, an average of 2 million readers are visiting Forward.com each month — that's over half a million more than last year! And we have 143,000 loyal readers receiving our daily newsletters — that's 64% more than last year! Readers want the coverage the Forward provides and we have the chutzpah and dedication it takes to deliver it.
The unprecedented demand for our reporting brings higher costs. Help us to meet the highest demand we have seen in a generation and to keep reaching more readers in the months ahead: donate to the Forward today.

If you’ve already made a gift this year, please know how grateful we are and consider making an end-of-year donation. If you haven’t made a gift yet, now is the perfect time because your donation will be doubled in value through a generous match program with NewsMatch, the largest grassroots matching-gift campaign for nonprofit newsrooms.

Thank you for being a Forward reader and for your commitment to news that matters, from a Jewish perspective.

Gratefully,

Rachel Fishman Feddersen
Publisher & Chief Executive Officer

The Forward