The star has given the complete sum of his £25,000 award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the prize on October 16 as his third album his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part local spots had in his initial steps.
"I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
Fender also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 local spots across the UK.
These funds helped locations that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained monetary aid in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The idea that revenue from performances in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to donate his award winnings to worthy causes.
Back when Pulp earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their record their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would give their cash to the charity the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer the artist divided her award across several organizations, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," the artist shared with outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the youth organization that developed their group, in addition to other local music groups.
And winners that year M People gave their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.
"The victory was sufficient," said artist the singer. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning affected somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT shared it had rescued several small stages in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
One venue in Southampton and the other in the city were acquired under the community ownership program, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who buy "stakes" in the properties.
