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The artist has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.

The star was given the cheque on 16 October as his latest record the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, top acts like the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.

These funds supported locations that were facing possible closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.

Some locations received funding support in upgrading amenities and technical equipment that positively impacted musicians and fans.

"The notion that funds from performances in big venues backs the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.

The musician is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.

Back when Pulp earned the prize in the year 1996 for their album the album, vocalist the singer announced that the group would donate their cash to the organization the charity.

During 2002, artist she split her award among a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"And I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," she shared with the media.

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

And winners that year the group gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the disease.

"Winning was ample," remarked vocalist Small. "The money was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."

In the past week, the MVT shared it had saved several grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.

The first in the city and the second in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.