The artist has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the UK's grassroots live music spots.
The star was given the cheque on mid-October as his latest record his work was chosen as the top album of the last 12 months.
The musician has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – about 16% of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
Sam Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.
The money assisted locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties stemming from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Other venues received financial assistance in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.
"The idea that money from shows in major spaces backs the local stages, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.
The musician is far from the only musician to give his honor winnings to good deeds.
In Pulp won the award in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, vocalist the singer stated that the group would contribute their cash to the organization the charity.
That year, rapper and singer the artist divided her award between a few organizations, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," she told the media.
In recent years, they donated their prize money to the youth organization that developed their act, alongside other independent music bodies.
Also the 1994 recipients they contributed their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the condition.
"The victory was ample," stated singer Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
