The artist has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 honor winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
The star was given the prize on 16 October as his third album People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
The musician has decided to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.
Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support 38 local spots across Britain.
The donation supported locations that were facing possible closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Other venues obtained monetary aid in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.
"The idea that revenue from performances in major spaces helps the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
When they received the trophy in 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman the singer stated that the act would donate their prize money to the non-profit the charity.
In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite divided her award across multiple good causes, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," the artist shared with a publication.
Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their band, as well as other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients they gave their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," stated singer the singer. "The money was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
Last week, the trust revealed it had rescued two small stages in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.
One venue in that area and the other in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.
