The star has handed over the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his third album his work was chosen as the best record of the last 12 months.
He has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These venues are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Recently, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across the UK.
The money helped venues that were facing imminent closure due to issues arising from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Some locations received monetary aid in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and fans.
"The concept that revenue from performances in large arenas supports the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just sensible," the star has commented.
He is far from the only musician to give his award winnings to good deeds.
Back when the band earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their album their work, lead singer the singer declared that the group would donate their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
That year, artist she split her prize between a few organizations, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," the artist shared with a publication.
Previously, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the local youth club that supported their group, in addition to other local music groups.
And winners that year the group gave their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was diagnosed the condition.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," said singer Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved several local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and the second in the city were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the venues.
