The Forward
Legal name: The Forward Association Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 130623590
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 2128898200
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Media, Communications Organizations
- Affiliation
- Judaism
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,658,429
- Expenses
- $6,615,681
- Assets
- $3,892,689
- Liabilities
- $528,170
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Rachel Fishman Feddersen (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Rachel Fishman Feddersen (CEO): $415,602 total reported compensation
- Jodi Rudoren (Editor in Chief): $365,499 total reported compensation
- Jay Ehrlich (Senior VP Operations): $294,131 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Independent Jewish journalism driven by truth, not ideology. Integrity** : We provide fair and full reporting in the highest tradition of public-service journalism, a cornerstone of resilient democracy. Through our work, we help build the foundation for a just, open, pluralistic society. Courage** : We pursue the truth wherever it takes us, delivering the news, investigations, narrative storytelling, and commentary that our community needs and deserves. Independence** : As a nonprofit supported by our readers and a broad array of philanthropies, we are not beholden to any individual, institution or ideology. We are always relevant but also irreverent, challenging conventional wisdom in respectful ways as we showcase the full spectrum of voices shaping.
What it reported doing in 2024
Yiddish media division: the second major program of the forward association is its yiddish publication, forverts. Updated regularly online, it is one of the few remaining publications in yiddish in the world and provides an indispensable service to its readers through its coverage of yiddish culture as well as news from israel, the united states and around the world. The website includes dozens of video features. Forverts reaches around 20,000 readers monthly via the internet at forward.com/yiddish.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.8%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 78.2%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0.6%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.59; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 31.1%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -3.6% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -22.7% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 77.8% of revenue deployed · 78.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $416K · 26 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $410K reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.