The Forward

What The Forward does

The Forward is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, independent Jewish media organization founded in 1897 and legally structured as The Forward Association, Inc., headquartered in New York City with a hybrid work model and 51–100 employees. Originally a Yiddish-language daily whose circulation once exceeded the New York Times in the 1920s, it now publishes the English-language forward.com website, an English-language weekly (since 1990), the Yiddish Forverts section, and a multi-platform portfolio spanning news, culture, opinion, food, and Israel coverage. Distribution is fully digital and global: a WordPress-based content management system hosts the website, complemented by eight distinct email newsletters, five podcasts, active social channels (Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, Bluesky, Reddit, TikTok), and a calendar of live and virtual events. The organization has been archived by the U.S. Library of Congress and is recognized by Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab as a top nonprofit news site.

The Forward's business model is reader-supported philanthropy. In December 2023, it removed its paywall for the first time in its 126-year history, making all journalism free. Revenue is generated through recurring sustaining memberships (monthly or annual), one-time donations, named endowments such as the Sy Syms Endowment for Journalistic Excellence ($1 million, established October 2025 by the Sy Syms Foundation), and program grants from foundations including the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation, and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. Customer segmentation is vertical: primary readers are American Jews seeking independent, non-ideological Jewish journalism, with secondary reach into Jewish community organizations, rabbis, and leaders. Audience scale is substantial — 1.5–2M monthly readers, 100M+ annual viewers across platforms, and ~90,000 newsletter subscribers — though only 2% of readers currently donate, indicating meaningful upside in donor conversion. The go-to-market motion is community-led, built on free content, newsletters, events, podcasts, and social engagement rather than sales-led distribution.

Name

The Forward

Legal name

The Forward Association, Inc.

Website

https://forward.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1897

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Forward is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Jewish media organization founded in 1897, delivering independent journalism to American Jews via its website, email newsletters, podcasts, and live events. All content has been free since December 2023, with revenue from reader donations and foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Jewish Digital News Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsletter Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAA)

Keywords

• Jewish news media
• Nonprofit journalism
• Yiddish language content
• Email newsletters
• News podcasts

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership and Donations: The Forward operates as a reader-supported nonprofit organization. As of December 2023, all journalism is free with no paywall, funded entirely by member contributions, donations, and sustaining memberships. Revenue comes from monthly or annual sustaining memberships and one-time donations.
2. Endowments and Grants: The Forward receives support through named endowments such as the Sy Syms Endowment for Journalistic Excellence ($1 million fund from Sy Syms Foundation) supporting early career journalists, and fellowships like the Jews of Color Fellowship supported by Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Forward is an independent, nonprofit Jewish news organization that publishes original journalism on forward.com covering Jewish news, culture, opinion, food, Israel, and Yiddish-language content. It distributes content through a portfolio of free email newsletters, podcasts, live events, and social media, sustained entirely by reader donations and sustaining memberships since removing its paywall in December 2023.

Product overview

The Forward is a nonprofit independent Jewish media organization offering a multi-platform content portfolio centered on Jewish news, culture, and opinion. The core offering includes the forward.com website with sections covering News, Culture, Food, Israel, Opinion, and Yiddish content, supported by a suite of email newsletters (Forwarding the News, Afternoon Edition, Antisemitism Decoded, Yiddish Brief, Looking Forward, A Bintel Brief, Weekend Reads, Forward Events) and podcasts (A Bintel Brief Podcast, Make Art Not War, Playing Anne Frank, That Jewish News Show, Yiddish with Rukhl). The organization operates as a reader-supported nonprofit, having removed its paywall in December 2023 to provide free access to all content, with revenue generated through membership contributions and donations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forwarding the News Newsletter Daily morning email newsletter curated by the news director, serving as the essential briefing on Jewish news and conversation for American Jewish readers.
• Afternoon Edition Newsletter Newsletter covering latest news headlines, daily feature stories, opinion essays, plus culture, entertainment, and food, delivered Monday through Thursday afternoons.
• Antisemitism Decoded Newsletter Biweekly newsletter providing a guide to help readers understand the debates over Jewish safety shaping American life, written by Arno Rosenfeld.
• Yiddish Brief Newsletter Weekly English-language newsletter about what is happening in the Yiddish world, brought to readers by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter.
• Looking Forward Newsletter Weekly letter with a personal take on the news, Jewish issues, and journalism, delivered Friday afternoons.
• A Bintel Brief Podcast Podcast adaptation of the Forward's classic Jewish advice column 'A Bundle of Letters,' featuring two Jewish mothers discussing dilemmas of Jewish-American life, identity, culture, and politics.
• Make Art Not War Podcast Podcast hosted by Libby Lenkinski exploring how Jewish and Palestinian artists in Israel have experienced a year of war and how it has affected their creative work.
• That Jewish News Show Podcast Weekly podcast hosted by opinion editor Laura E. Adkins and news director Benyamin Cohen providing a smart and thoughtful look at the week in Jewish news.
• Yiddish with Rukhl — A Forverts Podcast Limited series podcast where Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter shares engaging Forverts articles in conversational Yiddish for intermediate-level listeners.
• Forverts Yiddish Content Section Yiddish-language content section featuring articles, videos, games, and cultural coverage in Yiddish, including Yiddish Word of the Day and Yiddish Wordle.
• Sustaining Membership Program Reader-supported membership program offering access to member-only communications, events, store discounts, and special content like holiday recipes, with monthly or annual recurring donations.

Quantifiable outcome

• The Forward reaches more than 100 million viewers annually across platforms
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GoogleminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 September 2025Google selected The Forward as a Preferred Source in its search tool, offering a way to highlight news from publishers users trust most. Forward stories are prioritized in 'Top Stories' results and appear in a new 'From Your Sources' box for users who select The Forward as a preferred source.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ProPublica: A major U.S. nonprofit investigative newsroom supported by reader donations. While not a direct competitor on content, it shares Forward's nonprofit, reader-supported model and represents a benchmark for nonprofit news sustainability.
• The Intercept: An independent nonprofit newsroom focused on investigative journalism. While not Jewish-focused, it shares a comparable nonprofit, donor-funded, paywall-free business model and targets similarly engaged, ideologically motivated readers.
• Haaretz: Israel's newspaper of record, with substantial English-language coverage and a U.S. subscriber base. It is a broader incumbent whose English edition overlaps significantly with Forward's coverage of Israel and Jewish affairs.

Direct peers

• Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA): JTA is the other major American Jewish nonprofit news wire service, providing daily Jewish news to community publications. It is the most direct competitor to The Forward in Jewish American news, operating on a similar nonprofit, donor-supported model.
• Tablet Magazine: An online Jewish magazine covering news, arts, and ideas with a long-form editorial approach. Competes for the same culturally engaged American Jewish readers as The Forward.
• The Jewish Week: A longstanding New York-based Jewish newspaper, now affiliated with the Times of Israel. It directly competes with The Forward for the same New York Jewish readership and advertising/membership base.
• Times of Israel: A large-scale digital Jewish news outlet covering global Jewish news with significant U.S. readership. Directly competes with The Forward for English-speaking Jewish American audiences online.
• Jewish News Syndicate (JNS): A nonprofit Jewish wire service distributing news to Jewish publications worldwide. Directly competes with The Forward and JTA in the Jewish news distribution space with a more right-leaning editorial perspective.

Emerging players

• Jewish Insider: A daily newsletter-based Jewish news outlet focused on politics and power. While narrower in scope than The Forward, it competes for the same professional, politically engaged Jewish American reader demographic.
• Kveller: A Jewish digital media outlet focused on parenting, family, and interfaith content. Overlaps with The Forward's culture and lifestyle coverage but targets a younger, family-oriented Jewish audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Jdforward
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCl4_Gzulx02xTMmE2CIZTSQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/jewishdailyforward
• Instagraminstagram.com/jdforward
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-forward

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Forward