The star has handed over the complete sum of his £25k award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the award on mid-October as his latest record the album was named the best record of the last 12 months.
He has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in recognition of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which goes to help local stages.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 small stages across the UK.
These funds helped venues that were confronting imminent closure due to issues arising from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted funding support in improving infrastructure and gear that positively impacted artists and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in large arenas helps the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his honor funds to worthy causes.
When Pulp earned the award in 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Cocker declared that the group would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite divided her award among multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," she shared with a publication.
In recent years, they donated their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally 1994 winners they donated their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.
"The victory was sufficient," stated artist Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our success affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust revealed it had saved two local spots in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in the city were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "shares" in the properties.
