The artist has given the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
He was presented with the prize on October 16 as his third album the album was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
He has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part local spots played in his initial steps.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the performances I did around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
He also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across the UK.
The money supported locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties caused by flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Some locations received financial assistance in modernizing facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and fans.
"The notion that funds from shows in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.
The musician is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
Back when the band earned the award in 1996 for their album Different Class, vocalist the singer announced that the band would donate their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
That year, rapper and singer the artist divided her bounty across a few charities, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," she told the media.
Previously, they contributed their funds to the youth organization that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also 1994 winners M People gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the condition.
"The victory was quite enough," stated singer the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued several small stages in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by a national body and music fans who acquire "shares" in the properties.
