The Big Fat Tip

The Big Fat Tip Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Big Fat Tip, Nonprofit Organization, 502 East Main Street, Lakeland, FL.

Happy Valentine's Day! We celebrated by dropping SEVEN surprise $1,000 tips today in Savannah, Georgia! The servers's re...
02/14/2026

Happy Valentine's Day! We celebrated by dropping SEVEN surprise $1,000 tips today in Savannah, Georgia! The servers's reactions brought us to tears over and over. Big Fat Thanks to our sponsors and volunteers - we will give them special recognition in all seven of these videos. Be on the lookout!

12/28/2025

Talk about perfect timing and good fortune! On November 26, 2025, the eve of Thanksgiving, our volunteer Robert Guertin, MBA, CSP, ASP, CHST, LAT, ATC, surprised an incredibly grateful server at Juniper at Vertex Sky Bar. This stunning rooftop spot sits atop the historic Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City, South Dakota.

This hardworking server was originally set to wait on another table, but swapped sections so his colleague could chat with an attractive guest. That lucky swap landed him a life-changing $1,000 Big Fat Tip instead! 🍀 With breathtaking city views, Juniper is a beloved gathering place during the Thanksgiving holiday.

This touching moment was made possible by generous new donors Billy Tesh, Melissa Huson, CPA, William Sundquist, FCSI, and Kim Paone, plus our dedicated Tipping Titans Brad Sundgren and Mike Chamberlain (the incredible supporters who signed up for automatic monthly donations). Thank you for spreading hope and kindness!

Watch the full heartwarming video and feel the gratitude. It's the ripple effect of random acts of kindness!

👉 See the surprise and more inspiring stories at bigfattip.org

Donate today to help us surprise more service heroes with $1,000 tips: bigfattip.org/donate/

12/26/2025

Random acts of kindness hit different. That unexpected happy shock? It floods the recipient's brain with dopamine, the ultimate feel-good chemical that cranks up pleasure and reward pathways.

Our days tend to blend in and become forgettable. Good surprises light up those centers brighter than predictable routines ever could.

Science keeps proving the old cliché right. Giving usually feels better than getting. When you do something nice for someone else, your brain unleashes oxytocin, more dopamine, and a rush of endorphins. It's a sneaky rush that turns regular folks into low-key giving addicts. Volunteers often say, “That was so fun! I want to do another one!”

These two epic drops went down in Los Angeles during the ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership Annual Meeting, surrounded by association pros plotting world domination (the good kind). Just another reminder of the POWER OF A: associations pulling people together to actually make the world a little less sucky.

BIG FAT THANKS to our volunteer(s) of the day: Rob Wenger!

And endless gratitude to our generous sponsors/donors: Nat Bartholomew, Rob Wenger, Lowell Aplebaum, EdD, FASAE, CAE, CPF, Jeffrey Tenenbaum and his company Tenenbaum Law Group PLLC, Nicole Araujo, CAE, Cathi Eifert Horner, CAE, Alina Cooper, CAE, Mike Chamberlain, and Brad Sundgren and an anonymous donor who has given many times in the past, too.

We couldn't do this without you, Legends.

Watch the pure joy in all our Big Fat Tip videos. đź’›

12/26/2025

Random acts of kindness hit different. That unexpected happy shock? It floods the recipient's brain with dopamine, the ultimate feel-good chemical that cranks up pleasure and reward pathways.

Our days tend to blend in and become forgettable. Good surprises light up those centers brighter than predictable routines ever could.

Science keeps proving the old cliché right. Giving usually feels better than getting. When you do something nice for someone else, your brain unleashes oxytocin, more dopamine, and a rush of endorphins. It's a sneaky rush that turns regular folks into low-key giving addicts. Volunteers often say, “That was so fun! I want to do another one!”

These two epic drops went down in Los Angeles during the ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership Annual Meeting, surrounded by association pros plotting world domination (the good kind). Just another reminder of the POWER OF A: associations pulling people together to actually make the world a little less sucky.

BIG FAT THANKS to our volunteer(s) of the day: Nicole Araujo, CAE

You made the magic happen!

And endless gratitude to our generous sponsors/donors: Nat Bartholomew, Rob Wenger, Lowell Aplebaum, EdD, FASAE, CAE, CPF, Jeffrey Tenenbaum and his company Tenenbaum Law Group PLLC, Nicole Araujo, CAE, Cathi Eifert Horner, CAE, Alina Cooper, CAE, Mike Chamberlain, and Brad Sundgren and an anonymous donor who has given many times in the past, too.

We couldn't do this without you, Legends.

Watch the pure joy in all our Big Fat Tip videos. đź’›

12/26/2025

WOAH” - said softly...twice.

Have you ever thought about what you can do that AI can’t? Robots can’t show kindness the way people do. AI might do things that seem like random acts of kindness, but they aren’t really random because they follow set rules or respond to prompts. AI can deliver a digital surprise in an app or game, but it doesn’t feel the same joy a human does when helping someone.

Real acts of kindness are selfless and come from empathy, with no expectation of anything in return. AI doesn’t feel empathy or care; it just follows its programming to be helpful.

(We also do our best to ensure the business we choose is selected at random - good luck finding a pattern and accurately predicting our next location!)

Doing something nice for someone else “just because” is a defining human trait that differentiates us and makes us stronger than AI.

So, get out there and make someone’s day. Buy that cup of coffee. Help someone who needs it without waiting for them to ask you. Look someone in the eyes and smile.

Big Fat Thanks to our volunteers of the day: Andrew Bradshaw, Patrick Wilson, and Heather McKean.

Huge thanks to our Tipping Titans: Brad Sundgren, Mike Chamberlain, and Eric and Kelly Stancliff, who have consistently donated each month to sustain momentum.

The Interesting Conversations Company®️ covered the difference, enabling us to reach number 80 while we were in West Palm Beach for the Florida Society of Association Executives annual conference.

12/26/2025

The server’s reaction truly touched us. It was genuine and honest, a direct response to a simple act of kindness.

Have you ever thought about what you can do that AI can’t? Robots can’t show kindness the way people do. AI might do things that seem like random acts of kindness, but they aren’t really random because they follow set rules or respond to prompts. AI can deliver a digital surprise in an app or game, but it doesn’t feel the same joy a human does when helping someone.

Real acts of kindness are selfless and come from empathy, with no expectation of anything in return. AI doesn’t feel empathy or care; it just follows its programming to be helpful.

(We also do our best to ensure the business we choose is selected at random - good luck finding a pattern and accurately predicting our next location!)

Doing something nice for someone else “just because” is a defining human trait that differentiates us and makes us stronger than AI.

So, get out there and make someone’s day. Buy that cup of coffee. Help someone who needs it without waiting for them to ask you. Look someone in the eyes and smile.

Big Fat Thanks to our volunteers of the day: Christy Gandy and Mackenzie H.

And a huge thank you to our sponsor, who chose to stay anonymous for this drop.

12/24/2025

The Big Fat Tip #78 – Tiki Taste Tour – Cedar Key, Florida – December 20, 2024

The Big Fat Tip celebrated its 6th anniversary by handing out six surprise $1,000 tips to randomly selected U.S. service workers. We typically do the anniversary drop in our hometown of Lakeland, Florida, but after Hurricane Helene devastated Cedar Key, we felt that we could make a bigger impact there.

We didn’t need to draw a business out of a hat or flip a coin; there were only six open that day that aligned with our schedule. Cedar Key continues to rebuild, many more businesses have opened, and they are ready to serve you!

Cedar Key is a special place. Go see it for yourself.

Huge thanks to our volunteer of the day, Blake Echeverry, who took a full day off during the busy holiday season to travel to Cedar Key and assist with all six drops.

These tips would not happened without our generous donors, most of whom have donated multiple times throughout the years: Eric Vaden, Nat Bartholomew, Lakisha Woods, Bob London, Andy and Tracy Rawlings, AB Torres, Cathi Horner, Lowell Aplebaum, Barb Parks, Janice Stephens, Sherry Budziak, Ricky Reynolds, Jennifer Saldana, Danielle Foisy, Damon Dennis, April E, Nicole Araujo, Brad Sundgren, Mike Chamberlain, Eric and Kelly, Alan Alford Sports Talk Show, and The Interesting Conversations Company.

12/21/2024

We celebrated our 6th anniversary of being an organization by handing out six surprise $1,000 tips in Cedar Key today. Details coming later. ❤️

11/13/2024

Big Fat Tip #72 happened at Cafe Bea in Miami!

The Big Fat Tip® dropped #69 recently, but we can't show you the video because it is too spicy for work. If you want to...
11/13/2024

The Big Fat Tip® dropped #69 recently, but we can't show you the video because it is too spicy for work. If you want to watch it, you must find it on the site that uses the words "you" and "tube."

You may certainly like, love, and celebrate this post, but please, we beg you, do not comment here. (Let's keep this video our little secret, OK?)

What's not a secret is the main sponsor of this drop: Association Chat – A New Era kicked in 69% of a big tip. Thank You ! KiKi L'Italien

The following "Topsy Turvey Tippers" donated $69: Rob Wenger Teri Carden, Cathi Eifert Horner, George McCorkell, and Eddie Lopez

We had multiple donors who preferred to be in the Vo**ur category. They provided these aliases: Sweet Poison Ivy, SuperChief2581, Dixie Rendale, Gizmo Octave, Christy Candy, and Sheila Big-Tips. Thank you!!

Then along came Mark Dorsey, who donated a Big Fat $1,000, so the recipient of #69 could give the next one to others working at that establishment. The server was beyond thrilled to make someone else's night. Thank you, Mark!!

Shout out to our volunteers of the day: Janice Stephens and Evan Bash

No more spoilers. Watch it for yourself.

11/10/2024

Big Fat Tip #71 just happened at FINKA Table and Tap in Miami, FL!

11/07/2024

The Big Fat Tip #68 happened in Orange Beach, Alabama, on October 30, 2024 at the end of the Mississippi Society of Association Executives conference. We'd like to give a huge thanks to our donors, who are listed at the end of this video. We couldn't do these drops without your support.

Special thanks to our volunteers of the day: Amy Wilson and Teri Carden

Mississippi Society of Association Executives

Address

502 East Main Street
Lakeland, FL
33801

Telephone

+18636024688

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