The artist has donated the complete sum of his £25k honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
He was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the top album of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the essential function small stages had in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 local spots across Britain.
The donation supported spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.
"The idea that funds from performances in big venues helps the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.
He is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
In they earned the award in the year 1996 for their record their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would contribute their cash to the charity the charity.
In 2002, musician she split her bounty between a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
Previously, the band contributed their winnings to the local youth club that supported their act, alongside other independent music bodies.
And winners that year the group contributed their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated artist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched the lives of others."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had protected a couple of local spots in that region, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in that area and the other in that location were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the buildings.
