The star has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the Britain's grassroots music venues.
The star was given the award on 16 October as his third album his work was declared the best record of the past year.
Fender has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages had in his initial steps.
"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I did around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
Sam Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that revenue from shows in large arenas backs the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.
Back when they received the award in 1996 for their album the album, lead singer the singer stated that the act would give their winnings to the non-profit the charity.
That year, rapper and singer she divided her award between several good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," the artist explained to a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their group, alongside other local music groups.
And winners that year M People contributed their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked singer Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted another person's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued several local spots in the South East, by bringing them into local control.
The first in that area and the second in that location were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
