The Forward Announces Launch of the Sy Syms Endowment for Journalistic Excellence

$1M endowment will help develop the next generation of journalistic talent

NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Forward CEO & Publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen announced the establishment of the Sy Syms Endowment for Journalistic Excellence. The $1 million endowment, to be funded over five years by the Sy Syms Foundation [https://sysymsfoundation.org/] will support the recruitment, training, and development of early career journalists to benefit both the Forward and the broader field of journalism.

The iconic Forward, the leading Jewish voice in American journalism, was founded in 1897 as the Forverts, a Yiddish-language daily. It soon became a national paper and the most widely read Jewish newspaper anywhere. The Forward became fully digital in 2019 and now reaches an average monthly readership of 1.5 million.

"The Forward has a strong track record in developing new journalistic talent and nurturing the early careers of Jewish journalists," said Fishman Feddersen. "The dozens of distinguished Forward alumni include Jeffery Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic and Ben Smith, formerly of The New York Times and founder of Semafor. The Sy Syms Endowment for Journalistic Excellence will build on the Forward's commitment to sustaining the field at a critical moment when fact-based journalism is more necessary than ever. We're deeply grateful to the Sy Syms Foundation for their generosity and vision."

Marcy Syms, the founding trustee and President of the Sy Syms Foundation and long-time member of the Forward Board of Directors said, "Ida B. Wells, investigative journalist, famously said, 'the way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.' The Forward's commitment to truth by practicing excellence in journalism, is an essential part of the Jewish American experience. The Sy Syms Foundation is pleased and proud to be a part of securing a future for the next generation of journalists."

Interested candidates should apply at https://forward.com/about-us/employment/.

About the Forward

The Forward is the most significant Jewish voice in American journalism. Its award-winning reporting on cultural, social and political issues inspires readers of all ages and animates conversation across generations and different segments of the American Jewish community. The English and Yiddish platforms build on a century-old legacy maintained in the Forward archives and lead to a deeper understanding of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century.

For more information visit: forward.com

About the Sy Syms Foundation

The Sy Syms Foundation was established in 1985 by retail entrepreneur and humanitarian Sy Syms. From the beginning Sy Syms and his daughter Marcy's vision for the Foundation's mission was to support education, scientific research, the arts and community health. That same mission guides the Foundation's work today.

Celebrating its 40^th year of administering grants and partnering with other non-profits, SSF has reached over 100 organizations with over 65 million dollars in grant making.

In 1986 the Foundation established a business school at Yeshiva University and today the Sy Syms School of Business has more that 750 students both undergraduate and graduate level.

The Foundation partnered with the American Heart Association in helping to establish the Go Red Campaign to educate women and doctors that women do not have the same symptoms as men when experiencing a heart attack. SSF has been part of medical research advances through the Barrow Neurological Institute & Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, Reuth Medical & Life Care Centers, The Children's Cancer & Blood Foundation, Fragile X Research Foundation, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Jewish Family & Children's Services, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, the International Pemphigus Foundation, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science and other organizations focused on helping people manage disease. 

SSF has been a proud benefactor to many civic and cultural organizations, each enriching our lives, Lincoln Center, WNYC, NPR, PBS, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, American Museum of Natural History, The Jewish Museum, Amnesty International, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Manhattan Theatre Club and several regional arts centers. 

Recently, answering the pressing need for understanding between Jews in America and Israel, last year SSF underwrote the establishment of a leadership conference between young Jewish leaders in Israel and America to increase their understanding of life in each other's country.

CONTACT: Marilynn Jacobs, [email protected]

SOURCE The Forward