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The star has handed over the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.

He was awarded the prize on October 16 as his latest record his work was chosen as the best record of the past year.

Fender has decided to give the cash to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues played in his initial steps.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its initiatives to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.

Sam Fender also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight local spots across the UK.

These funds helped locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues arising from flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.

Other venues received monetary aid in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and fans.

"The notion that money from shows in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has stated.

Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his honor winnings to charitable organizations.

In Pulp won the trophy in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, frontman Cocker announced that the band would donate their prize money to the charity War Child.

In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite divided her bounty between multiple good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," she told a publication.

In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.

Also the 1994 recipients M People contributed their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.

"Winning was ample," said artist the singer. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success touched the lives of others."

Recently, the trust announced it had protected several grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.

The Joiners in the city and the second in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.