Forward Synagogue Program

Become a Forward Synagogue

The Forward Synagogue Program is an outreach effort for selected synagogues, connecting their members more deeply to both their local community and to the wider, diverse Jewish community and content.

The Forward has connected and informed the American Jewish community across generations. Originally America’s largest Yiddish newspaper, today the Forward reaches an audience of 1.5 million people at forward.com in English and Yiddish, as well as through email newsletters and social media. It’s a growing and dynamic audience, a third of whom are 35 and under.

For 125 years, the Forward has explored, explained, and celebrated the ever-changing American Jewish world, as well as examined the wider world through a Jewish lens. With unbridled news reporting, unabashed cultural coverage, and uncompromised engagement with the great diversity of Jewish life, the Forward is America’s leading independent, nonprofit Jewish news organization. The Forward Synagogue Program is our latest initiative dedicated to sustaining our vibrant, inventive American Jewish past, present, and future.

What is the Forward Synagogue Program?

The Forward Synagogue program provides your organization with simple, turnkey benefits that you can use to augment your synagogue’s membership, fundraising, programming, and leadership initiatives. The program can be easily implemented by synagogues of all sizes, denominations, and membership demographics. There is no fee to participate and no commitment beyond promoting the benefits to your synagogue community.

The Forward can help you grow and engage your members:

Advertise your synagogue at no cost on forward.com. Create your ad to our specifications and you will receive geotargeted advertising impressions on the Forward’s website.
All Forward Synagogues will be listed and linked to on forward.com and promoted in the Forward’s newsletters and social media. This distinction will help set your organization apart and provide an affiliation to use in your membership marketing.
We’ll provide an unlimited number of Forward subscriptions at our lowest price to offer to your members, or to purchase in bulk. A subscription allows you to have unlimited access to all the content on forward.com. Five free one-year subscriptions are available for your clergy and professional staff.
Engage your membership by using the Forward’s articles, events, and podcasts to help inform programming. Want to start a Yiddish group, a Jewish parenting group, or a Jewish film club? The Forward will provide you with collections of free resources to support your programming, making it easy to get members involved without additional work or cost of outside teachers.

The Forward can help you grow and engage your donors:

Forward Partners will get special event invitations to Forward donor events that you can leverage for your own fundraising efforts.

The Forward can help you support your lay and professional leadership:

As a Forward Synagogue, you’ll have access to collections compiled from the Forward’s renowned editorial team. These collections represent the best of the Forward’s independent, nonpartisan approach to Jewish life and will provide an unbiased resource for your Board, lay, and professional leadership to help address the many pressing issues of sustaining a Jewish community, including:

Combatting Anti-Semitism
Welcoming Jews of Color
Sustaining Safety for LGBTQ Adults and Youth

How do I become a Forward Synagogue?

To sign up:

Complete the Forward Partnership application.
- After you submit your application, the Forward partnerships team will review your application and will reach out if there are any questions and to let you know our determination.

Once you’re accepted:

You will receive an email with resources and next steps.
As a Forward Synagogue you will:
- Promote the Forward subscription offer to all members. Note that the Forward will never ask for your membership list. Your members can opt-out on the Forward website at any time and their names will never be shared consistent with the Forward’s privacy policy.
  - Staff and clergy can receive five free one-year subscriptions.
  - We’ll provide resources for you to share the offer to your synagogue congregation.
- Promote your status as a Forward Synagogue to your congregation and school families at least twice per year.

QUESTIONS? CONTACT US AT: [email protected]