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The artist has donated the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.

Fender was given the award on October 16 as his third album his work was declared the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

The musician has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role grassroots venues had in his early career.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.

Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.

Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 small stages across Britain.

The money helped venues that were facing imminent closure due to challenges caused by floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces received funding support in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and audiences.

"The idea that revenue from performances in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it all starts for performers like me, is just sensible," the star has stated.

The musician is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

In Pulp earned the award in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, vocalist the singer announced that the act would contribute their prize money to the non-profit the charity.

In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite split her prize across multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite shared with a publication.

In recent years, the band donated their prize money to the community center that supported their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally 1994 winners the group gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the illness.

"The victory was quite enough," said vocalist the singer. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted another person's life."

Last week, the MVT announced it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.

One venue in Southampton and The Croft in the city were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by a national body and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.