Our Origin Story
14 Years, One Event, Every Innovation
Every feature in Handbid exists because a real event needed it.
In 2011, our founder Jeff Porter was running PWSA Colorado’s Derby Day gala when he had an idea that would change nonprofit fundraising.
Jeff founded the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado in 2004 with a mission to improve the lives of those impacted by Prader-Willi Syndrome in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. By 2006, he and his team had launched Derby Day—Denver’s classiest Kentucky Derby–themed fundraiser—as the organization’s signature event. Within a few years, it had grown to over 300 attendees and 130+ auction items at the Cable Center at the University of Denver.
Growth brought a familiar problem. Paper bid sheets piled up. Volunteers misread handwritten paddle numbers. Checkout lines stretched to fifteen minutes. Guests left frustrated—or worse, left early.
Jeff was also running a mobile software company at the time, right in the middle of the smartphone revolution. So he did what any founder would: he hired a developer and built something that had never been done—a mobile auction bidding app for his own event.
On May 7, 2011, Derby Day became the first event to use what would become Handbid. The auction raised more than double what it had the previous year—with roughly the same number of items. Guests used it. Guests loved it. Even older attendees who had never used a smartphone embraced the technology.
We didn’t start as a software company looking for a market. We started as an event that needed a better way. That difference still drives everything we build.
Nearly every major Handbid feature was first tested at Derby Day. This event has been our proving ground for over a decade:
When in-person events stopped in 2020, our platform didn’t.
Using Handbid’s integrated live streaming technology, PWSA Colorado hosted small Derby gatherings across the country. Guests watched the horse race, participated in the live auction, bid on silent auction items, and joined the paddle raise—all remotely, all in real time, all through the Handbid platform.
The live auction raised over $34,000. But the real story was the launch of the 2020 Race for a Cure—PWSA Colorado’s first peer-to-peer campaign on Handbid. With no in-person attendees at the main venue, the majority of that year’s fundraising happened entirely online, proving that the platform could power giving well beyond auction night.
These are the features that transformed Derby Day—and now power thousands of events nationwide.
Tap-to-Pay Check-In: From 15-Minute Lines to a Single Tap
What once required paper forms, manual card entry, and a small army of volunteers now takes seconds. Guests tap their card or phone at a Stripe terminal, their payment method is stored, and they’re ready to bid. At checkout, there’s no line—invoices go straight to their phone, and guests leave on their own time.
Mobile Bidding: Never Miss a Bid—Even From the Bar
Real-time outbid notifications keep guests engaged and bidding from anywhere in the venue. With 16,500+ bids placed across Derby Day events, mobile bidding transformed a 130-item silent auction from a walk-around-and-scribble experience into a competitive, revenue-driving machine—doubling auction revenue in its very first year.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: Fundraising That Doesn’t End When the Party Does
When COVID shut down in-person events in 2020, PWSA Colorado launched its first peer-to-peer campaign on Handbid—Race for a Cure. Supporters recruited their own networks, raised funds online, and proved that giving doesn’t require a ballroom. Across four P2P campaigns, Derby supporters have raised over $127,000 beyond auction night.
Theme Manager: Your Event, Your Brand—Down to Every Detail
Derby Day’s landing page isn’t a generic template—it’s a fully branded experience that matches the look and feel of Denver’s classiest event. Handbid’s Theme Manager gives organizers complete control over colors, logos, imagery, and layout, so guests feel the event’s identity from the moment they land on the page.
Fourteen years of data tell the story of a partnership that keeps growing:
“I attended a Derby Day event and was so impressed with the technology—how well it ran, how seamlessly it worked—that I decided to invest in the company. I remain on the Board and an active Derby attendee to this day.”
— Travis Gentry
Handbid Investor & Board Member
“Derby Day has become a tradition for our family, even when we can’t be there in person. During COVID, we hosted a small watch party with friends in Arizona and bid on items while watching the live stream. We won three items that night! The technology made us feel like we were right there in Denver. It’s amazing to support a cause we care about from anywhere in the country.”
— Peter Noverr
Derby Day Supporter
Derby Day isn’t just our longest client relationship. It’s the reason Handbid exists.
When you use Handbid, you’re using technology that was built by someone who had to make their own event succeed—and has been refining it for fourteen years. Every feature was born from a real challenge at a real event. Every improvement was tested in front of real guests, real donors, and a mission that mattered.
Handbid wasn’t built in a lab. It was built by a founder who was personally responsible for making an event succeed. That’s why it works the way it does—and why organizations trust it with their most important nights of the year.
See how Handbid can help your organization raise more, stress less, and deliver an unforgettable guest experience.
