The artist has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
The star was presented with the prize on 16 October as his new release the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Recently, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
He also took part, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 local spots across the UK.
The money assisted venues that were facing possible closure due to challenges arising from water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces were granted funding support in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and concertgoers.
"The concept that revenue from performances in major spaces backs the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.
Fender is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.
In Pulp received the award in 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would contribute their prize money to the organization the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer she shared her prize across a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I donated a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," she shared with the media.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their act, as well as other local music groups.
And 1994 winners they donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the illness.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated singer the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our success affected the lives of others."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in that area and the second in that location were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.
