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The artist has given the full amount of his £25k honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.

Fender was given the prize on 16 October as his latest record People Watching was chosen as the best record of the last 12 months.

Fender has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role local spots had in his early career.

"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his live tour to support 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds supported spaces that were confronting possible closure due to challenges arising from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.

Some locations were granted financial assistance in improving infrastructure and gear that positively impacted artists and fans.

"The concept that money from performances in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has stated.

He is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.

Back when Pulp received the trophy in the mid-90s for their album the album, vocalist Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would give their cash to the organization the charity.

That year, musician she split her prize across several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told a publication.

Previously, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the community center that developed their act, in addition to other local music groups.

Additionally 1994 winners M People donated their award to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the condition.

"Winning was sufficient," remarked singer Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected the lives of others."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected two grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.

One venue in Southampton and The Croft in the city were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the properties.