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The artist has given the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which works to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.

Fender was presented with the prize on mid-October as his new release his work was named the best record of the past year.

The musician has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages played in his beginning days.

"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the region, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these locations have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds supported venues that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties arising from floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Some locations were granted funding support in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that helped performers and audiences.

"The idea that money from concerts in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.

He is far from the only musician to donate his award winnings to good deeds.

In Pulp received the trophy in the year 1996 for their release the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would contribute their cash to the charity War Child.

During 2002, musician she divided her prize among several organizations, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," the artist explained to a publication.

Two years ago, they gave their winnings to the community center that supported their group, alongside other local music groups.

Also winners that year the group gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the illness.

"The victory was quite enough," stated singer Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory impacted another person's life."

In the past week, the trust revealed it had saved a couple of small stages in south-east England, by placing them under local control.

One venue in Southampton and the other in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership program, which is backed by Arts Council England and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.