The artist has given the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the trust for venues, which works to save the UK's grassroots music venues.
He was awarded the award on October 16 as his third album the album was declared the best record of the past year.
Fender has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues had in his beginning days.
"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have ceased operations – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
Fender also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 local spots across the UK.
The money supported venues that were facing imminent closure due to issues arising from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations were granted funding support in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and audiences.
"The concept that money from performances in large arenas backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has said.
Fender is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
When they earned the award in the mid-90s for their release the album, frontman Cocker stated that the band would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
During 2002, musician she divided her award among multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also gave a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," the artist explained to outlets.
Previously, the band contributed their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally the 1994 recipients the group gave their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"The victory was ample," stated singer the singer. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected several small stages in that region, by transferring them to local control.
The first in the city and the second in the city were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who buy "stakes" in the venues.
