The artist has given the complete sum of his £25,000 award prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's small music venues.
He was given the award on October 16 as his third album the album was named the outstanding release of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about 16% of the total UK scene.
In the last year, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also took part, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 small stages across Britain.
These funds assisted spaces that were confronting possible closure due to issues stemming from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.
Other venues obtained monetary aid in upgrading amenities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.
"The notion that funds from shows in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is among several artists to donate his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
When they earned the award in 1996 for their album their work, lead singer the singer stated that the group would contribute their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
That year, musician she split her prize across several charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required updated gear," she shared with outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their funds to the youth organization that developed their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.
And the 1994 recipients they donated their prize to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," stated vocalist Small. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected another person's life."
Recently, the trust revealed it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in the city were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
