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The star has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 honor cash to the MVT, which works to save the Britain's grassroots music venues.

The star was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the top album of the previous year.

He has decided to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role small stages had in his early career.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.

He also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 grassroots venues across the UK.

The money helped spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues stemming from flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.

Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.

"The idea that revenue from concerts in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.

The musician is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.

When the band earned the award in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, lead singer Cocker declared that the group would donate their prize money to the charity War Child.

In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite shared her prize between multiple organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," the artist told outlets.

Two years ago, they donated their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally 1994 winners the group gave their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the condition.

"The victory was quite enough," remarked vocalist Small. "The money was the bonus but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning touched somebody else's life."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected several grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the buildings.