The artist has donated the entirety of his £25k award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the UK's independent music venues.
The star was awarded the prize on October 16 as his latest record People Watching was named the best record of the past year.
He has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part grassroots venues had in his beginning days.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
The donation supported locations that were confronting possible closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations were granted financial assistance in improving amenities and gear that helped performers and fans.
"The concept that revenue from shows in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his award funds to good deeds.
Back when they won the prize in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would give their cash to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, musician she divided her award across multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed updated gear," the artist explained to outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the local youth club that developed their group, in addition to other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients they contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," remarked singer Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched the lives of others."
Last week, the trust shared it had saved a couple of small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and the second in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition program, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.
