The star has given the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to protect the UK's grassroots music venues.
Fender was given the cheque on 16 October as his new release his work was declared the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
He has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role grassroots venues had in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation helped locations that were facing possible closure due to challenges arising from water damage, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Other venues received financial assistance in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The idea that money from concerts in large arenas supports the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his honor funds to worthy causes.
In the band earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their record their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would donate their prize money to the organization War Child.
In 2002, musician she divided her bounty between several good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," she told the media.
In recent years, they gave their winnings to the local youth club that developed their group, alongside other local music groups.
And winners that year the group gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the condition.
"Winning was sufficient," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched another person's life."
In the past week, the trust announced it had rescued several small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
The Joiners in that area and the other in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who purchase "shares" in the venues.
