| 10 Reviving A Bintel Brief
From its creation in 1906, A Bintel Brief was a pillar of the Forward. As one of the first advice columns in the United States, the letters described the tribulations experienced by the Eastern European immigrants in their adjustment to life in a new land. This year, we revived the column to help readers navigate the complexity of being Jewish in the 21st century. Keep your eyes peeled for more coming in 2021! |
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| 9 Launching the Forward Book Club
To foster connection in a time of crisis, the Forward launched a Book Club hosted by Publisher and CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen with archivist Chana Pollack and Innovation Editor Talya Zax. Book Club guest speakers have included Geraldine Brooks, author of “People of the Book,” and Max Gross, former Forward writer and author of “The Lost Shtetl.” The club meets once a week and brings together readers from across the country and world. |
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8 Serving our community during this time of crisis
We are committed to serving our community during this unprecedented time and our independent coverage has been more important than ever this year. We broke several stories about the Jewish community and the coronavirus pandemic in both English and Yiddish and, to reach the hard-hit Hasidic community, we partnered with JTA to distribute our Yiddish-language reporting in a WhatsApp group. We also created a revitalized obituary section and re-introduced our Scribe platform to showcase community voices during this difficult time. |
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7 Partnering with leaders in the Jewish community and beyond
To continue growing our audience and expanding our reach, the Forward collaborated with many organizations including the Washington D.C. Synagogue Sixth & I; the Marlene Meyerson JCC of Manhattan’s Other Israel Film Festival; the Miami Jewish Film Festival; Urban Archive, a digital archive app; and the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue to create Fahrenheit 411, a newsletter that fights disinformation. |
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6 Remarkable commitment from our donors
The Forward has received tremendous support from both large and small donors and experienced an overall growth in online gifts of 154%. We were thrilled that Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, renewed his support with a generous $500,000 grant for a second consecutive year. As a nonprofit supported by our readers and a broad array of philanthropies, the Forward is able to continue its mission of even-handed and independent reporting through the generosity of our readers. Thank you! |
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| 5 Powerful recognition for our award-winning journalism
In a turbulent year when honest and factual reporting has become so crucial, recognition of our staff has an even deeper meaning. In 2020, Forward journalists were awarded nine Rockowers (the Pulitizer Prize of Jewish journalism); two awards from the Society for Features Journalism; and a Deadline Club award. To top it off, our Publisher and CEO, Rachel Fishman Feddersen, was the runner-up for Editor & Publisher’s Publisher of the Year. |
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| 4 Our first virtual gala!
In October, the Forward produced our first ever virtual Come as You Are Gala: Comedy and Cocktails in Challenging Times. Our all-star lineup included Mayim Bialik, Peter Yarrow, Mike Bloomberg, Zach Braff, and others! As a national and international media organization, we were thankful for the opportunity to experience the event and auction with our readers from all over the world. |
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3 Yiddish Word of the Day series reaches hundreds of thousands of viewers
Empowering Yiddish speakers is our mission at the Forverts. As the only secular digital publication in Yiddish, it is our responsibility to highlight the continued relevance of the historic language through new initiatives like our Yiddish crossword puzzles, yoga classes, virtual conversations, and Yiddish Word of the Day series. Our daily lesson videos have garnered over 120,000 views on YouTube and over 405,000 views on Facebook! |
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| 2 Growing to better serve our readers in their communities
We are committed to deepening our national footprint and better serving our readers across our varied Jewish communities. In April 2020, we hired Rob Eshman, the former editor-in-chief and publisher of the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, to lead our national expansion. In addition to publishing dozens of articles from writers across the country, Rob launched Forward Forums, a series of talks featuring local community leaders taking on relevant and pressing issues of the day. |
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1 Over 22,000 people tuned in to our Zoominars
Turning on a dime in March, we realized live events were no longer an option, but we found a way to connect our readers around the world with engaging and relevant conversations. We hosted over 30 virtual talks — or Zoominars, as our editor-in-chief likes to call them — spanning Yiddish comedy, Juneteenth, the Unorthodox television series, politics, and more. |
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| Thank you for a spectacular year.
We couldn't have done it without you. The Forward is a non-profit, reader-supported news organization and
we rely on your donations to fund fearless Jewish journalism. |
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