The star has given the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to preserve the UK's independent concert spaces.
He was given the cheque on 16 October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has decided to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function grassroots venues had in his early career.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a modest fee to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
He also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous grassroots venues across Britain.
These funds assisted spaces that were confronting possible closure due to issues arising from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted financial assistance in improving facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.
"The idea that funds from concerts in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.
When the band won the award in 1996 for their record their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would contribute their winnings to the non-profit the charity.
In 2002, musician the artist split her bounty across several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," the artist shared with the media.
Previously, the band gave their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their group, in addition to other local music groups.
Additionally 1994 winners M People contributed their award to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the condition.
"The victory was ample," said artist the singer. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued several small stages in the South East, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in that area and the second in Bristol were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the properties.
