Trestle’s 2025 Open Call

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Sign up by Friday August 29, 2025

Each year at Trestle, we open up a call for movement partners who are looking for thoughtful, hands-on technology support. This process helps us prioritize the projects where we can make the biggest impact — to understand who’s out there, what’s needed, and where our team can be most helpful.

Whether you’re focused on building power, protecting communities under attack, scaling up for the next election work or anything in between — we want to hear from you.

Our mission is to make sure technology never stands in the way of bold organizing. That means your your systems are safe, tools work, and your people feel confident using them. Since 2020, Trestle has partnered with dozens of movement organizations to improve how we buy, build, and use tech in the fight for justice.

ON THIS PAGE

Open call details

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2025 AREAS OF FOCUS

Each year, we pick a few areas of focus where need is especially large, but our services are open to all flavors of people fighting for change.

Immigration justice

Teams protecting immigrant neighbors — from legal aid to digital safety — deserve strong, reliable tech.

We’re here to help strengthen the systems and organizers advancing the rights, safety, and dignity of our immigrant communities.

Defending democracy

With democracy under pressure, we’re supporting efforts that hold power accountable.

From voter protection and election monitoring to civic engagement platforms built for trust and scale, we are prioritizing efforts that protect elections, combat disinformation, and empower communities to keep our democracy working.

Digital security

Organizations fighting for human rights, climate justice, LGBTQIA+ freedom, and countless other issues are facing a unique scale of digital threat today.

For orgs experiencing urgent threats or seeking proactive support, we're ready for you.

This open call is for …

  • Social justice movement groups like activists, advocates, grassroots, grasstops, coalitions, direct service orgs, mutual aid groups and everyone in between 

  • Technologists and tech orgs who build tools for organizing, elections and social change work

  • Foundations and funders supporting vital movement work

  • Progressive campaigns for local races, ballot initiatives, etc.

…who have a challenge, need, idea or problem with the tech they use to power organizing, social change, campaigns or impact programs.

We’re extra excited to work with…

  • Groups working to protect immigrant, LGBTQIA+, gender, and reproductive rights.

  • Folks who care about making their tools are user-friendly and accessible to people of all backgrounds and abilities.

  • Organizing efforts that center BIPOC leadership and power building with communities of color.

  • Organizers fighting for just and equitable futures with an intersectional lens, on issues such as climate justice, housing justice, criminal justice, migrant rights, and workers’ rights.

Whether you are a long time collaborator, have been referred to us by a funder or partner, or stumbled here by word of mouth — we’re excited to meet you.

HOW IT WORKS

What to expect

  • Fill out our secure form to tell us about your tech need.

  • We review submissions on a regular, rolling basis. 

  • Once we review your submission, we’ll reach out to schedule a call within 1-2 weeks. If your request is urgent, we will reach out as soon as we can.

  • In our initial call with your team, we’ll ask questions to learn more about the challenge you’re facing or the idea you’re brewing up.

  • From there, we will scope out our approach, and with your input and feedback, we’ll finalize a plan.

The information you share in your submission form helps us get to work quickly—so please be as detailed as possible when you submit.

Timing & cost

  • Some projects may be short, lasting only a few weeks. Others may be robust and extend for months or even a year.

  • Trestle’s services are available on a sliding scale. Grant funds enable us to work with teams in need of low-cost or free support; if we decide to work together, we’ll scope a project that works with your budget.

Security of your information

  • We take your data security seriously. All form submissions are processed through our secure platform, which aligns with the strictest security measures available to keep your information protected.

  • If you have secure info you do not want to relay in written form, indicate on your form that you’d like to convey this over a call instead.

Trestle’s goal is to ensure that high-quality technology services are accessible to all fighting for change.

We work in paid, sliding scale and free capacity — and we encourage you to respond even if you have budget constraints.

We’ve helped projects with as little as $2,000 or as much as $200,000. We’re ready to meet you where you’re at.

If you are a funder interested in supporting this work so we can offer even more affordable & free tech guidance to these groups, please reach out to [email protected].

Here’s how Trestle can help

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  • We’ll pair you with a crew of designers, product managers, security specialists, and engineers who’ll help you craft and execute a plan to enhance your tech.

  • We can detect and fix security vulnerabilities in your internal systems and external websites or tech tools, helping your team stay protected for big fights.

  • We can fill short-term tech staffing gaps, so you can launch key features on schedule, and assist with longer-term tech hiring strategies (from job descriptions to technical interviews).

  • We’ll advise on important choices you might be facing as you build your team’s technology capacity, such as hiring and sustaining tech talent, choosing vendors, and balancing off-the-shelf and custom tools.

  • First, take a deep breath. Then, drop us a line. We’re here to help with rapid response capacity in the event of security attacks, site reliability crashes, sudden urgent changes in product strategy…and any other kind of mayhem the election season throws your way.

“The Election Protection hotline is tech-intensive. Without the full engagement and support of the amazing Trestle team, {the program} would not have been the technical success that it was.”

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

“From our first meeting, we were nearly brought to the happiest of tears when the Trestle team said the most basic thing: ‘We see what the problem is and we know how to fix it.’"

Pennsylvania Stands Up

Let’s get your tech ready.

Take a few moments to fill out our submission form to share the challenge you’re facing, the big idea you have or the questions you’re consideration.

We’ll review your submission and be in touch soon!