By Reporter staff

The Reporter announced that it matched its $5,000 matching grant from the David and Virginia Eisenberg Fund. The Reporter raised more than $8,700.

“We were thrilled to receive a matching grant again this year,” said Rabbi Rachel Esserman, executive editor of The Reporter. “We owe a special thank you to the David and Virginia Eisenberg Fund that was gracious enough to offer the grant. We are also grateful to readers of the paper who generously donated money.”

Esserman noted that this support is even more important now than it was in the past. “In the past, one of our main sources of income was advertising,” she said. “But all print newspapers have had difficulty getting ads because of the Internet and social media websites. That makes readers’ and foundations’ donations even more important.”

She also noted the difference between The Reporter and the local secular newspaper. “We offer a service to the Jewish community by giving them a one-stop place filled with news and features they won’t find anywhere else,” she said. “Those include Bill Simons’ columns and our award-winning book reviews and editorials.”

Esserman offered thanks to Shelley Hubal, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton, for helping to arrange the grant and The Reporter’s production associate, Julie Weber, for creating the ad that appeared in the paper and on The Reporter’s website. 

Although the matching grant is over, Esserman noted that the paper is still accepting donations. “Every penny is appreciated to help keep our paper going,” she said. Donations can still be made online through The Reporter Group’s website, www.thereportergroup.org, or by mailing donations to The Reporter, 500 Clubhouse Rd., Vestal, NY 13850.