The star has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
The star was presented with the prize on mid-October as his new release the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
He has opted to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the vital role small stages had in his initial steps.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have shut down – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
He also joined in, generating in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
These funds supported venues that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges stemming from floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces received funding support in improving amenities and gear that directly benefitted performers and fans.
"The concept that revenue from concerts in big venues supports the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.
Fender is among several artists to donate his award funds to worthy causes.
Back when Pulp won the award in 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would give their cash to the organization the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer she divided her prize among multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," she shared with the media.
In recent years, they gave their funds to the community center that supported their band, alongside other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients M People gave their award to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"The victory was ample," remarked artist Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning touched the lives of others."
Last week, the trust announced it had rescued several small stages in that region, by bringing them into local control.
The first in that area and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
