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The star has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.

Fender was presented with the prize on mid-October as his latest record his work was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

He has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages had in his early career.

"I would not have achieved 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," said Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – about 16% of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to assist 38 local spots across Britain.

The donation assisted venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues stemming from floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.

Other venues obtained financial assistance in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and fans.

"The concept that revenue from shows in big venues helps the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has said.

The musician is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.

When they received the award in the mid-90s for their album the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the act would contribute their cash to the charity the charity.

In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her award between several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I contributed a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.

In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the community center that supported their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

And the 1994 recipients the group gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed the illness.

"The victory was ample," remarked singer Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our success impacted somebody else's life."

Recently, the MVT shared it had protected a couple of local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.

The Joiners in the city and the second in Bristol were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "shares" in the properties.