A Giving Tuesday Pitch on Behalf of the Community

It’s awkward to bring up the number of compliments we regularly receive for the paper you’re holding in your hands. It’s awkward because it’s not very polite to show off, especially publicly. But I’m doing it this week in the spirit of Thanksgiving, a time when we look for ways to express our gratitude.

Indeed I’m deeply grateful for all the “thank yous” we get from across the community for putting together this weekly paper.

Because there’s so much variety in the Journal, I like to ask readers what they like most. It turns out that variety itself is a favorite feature. “It’s a great mix” is a common refrain.

This great mix means everything from thoughtful commentary on current events to community stories to food features to coverage of antisemitism and political trends to in-depth coverage of Israel to humor, film, arts, books and poetry to Torah commentary and rabbi profiles to Jewish and Israel activism to even a lifestyle page.

This broad and eclectic mix also means readers can indulge in whatever they’re in the mood for on any given week. Ultimately, our mission is to keep our community connected — to their world, to one another and to their tradition.

As we like to say, there are hundreds of Jewish organizations with their own stories, but there is only one whose job is to cover them all — and you’re holding that nonprofit organization in your hands.

There are hundreds of Jewish organizations in our community with their own stories, but there is only one whose job is to cover all those stories—and you’re holding that nonprofit organization in your hands.

“Holding it in your hands” happens to be one of the things people love most. I hear it over and over again—we’ve become so addicted to the frenzy of digital content that holding a paper allows us to slow down and savor the content.

A paper is to reading what Shabbat is to the rest of the week. We take our time. We’re not rushed. We don’t scroll frenetically—we can kick back and read peacefully.

Of course, good things don’t come cheap. Printing a paper and distributing it to the community week after week is a labor of love that costs a bundle. Advertising covers only a fraction of these costs. And because we’re a non-profit, we consider our paper a mitzvah to the community, which is why we gladly distribute it for free.

But this is our current reality: we can’t continue to offer this communal treasure unless generous and visionary donors step up. We know they are out there. We’re hoping a few of them will respond with major commitments of support. 

Through no one’s fault, we hit a rough patch recently when a few major pledges fell through. So we’ve made plenty of pitches to potential donors over the past few months. Some have stepped up, but we need more. It turns out that when I meet with donors, many of them prefer to talk about antisemitism or the crisis on college campuses or the situation in Israel. Oh, and they all tell me how much they value the Journal, in print and online.

I suspect some donors may think I’m bluffing when I tell them we will be forced to take a hiatus from the print unless some generous souls step up. I wish I were bluffing. I’m not.

That’s why I’m writing this column. One, to express our gratitude for your loyal readership and the praise we receive each week, and two, to ask major donors to put their generosity behind their gratitude right in time for Giving Tuesday on Dec. 3 (my email is davids@jewishjournal.com or visit jewishjournal.com/donate for our donation link).

If it means securing funding that will make this community paper sustainable, taking a hiatus won’t be the end of the world. In fact, it will turn out to be a blessing. 

That’s the end of the pitch. Enjoy this week’s issue, which features, among many other goodies, our annual Thanksgiving Haggadah and a terrific higher ed cover story by Gil Troy. 

Above all, let’s remember this Thanksgiving to be grateful for all of life’s blessings, including our vibrant community and that “great mix” of a paper that you so enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving.