The artist has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the UK's independent concert spaces.
He was presented with the award on mid-October as his new release People Watching was named the best record of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the crucial part local spots had in his early career.
"I would not have achieved my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, collecting over £100k on his live tour to help 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money helped spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues caused by water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Other venues received monetary aid in improving facilities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from performances in large arenas backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has said.
He is not the first artist to give his honor funds to good deeds.
Back when the band earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their release their work, frontman Cocker declared that the act would give their cash to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, musician the artist divided her award between several good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," she shared with a publication.
In recent years, the band contributed their prize money to the youth organization that developed their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And the 1994 recipients the group gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a friend was diagnosed the disease.
"The victory was ample," said vocalist Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted the lives of others."
In the past week, the MVT revealed it had protected two grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The Joiners in that area and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is funded by the arts council and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.
