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The artist has given the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which operates to preserve the United Kingdom's independent music venues.

He was presented with the award on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the top album of the last 12 months.

He has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots fulfilled in his early career.

"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, top acts including Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.

Fender also joined in, generating over £100k on his recent tour to support 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation helped locations that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.

Other venues received funding support in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that money from performances in major spaces helps the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.

Fender is not the first artist to contribute his award funds to worthy causes.

When they received the prize in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, vocalist Cocker stated that the group would donate their winnings to the organization War Child.

That year, musician the artist split her bounty across a few good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they required updated gear," she told the media.

In recent years, the band donated their funds to the youth organization that developed their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally 1994 winners M People contributed their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the illness.

"Winning was ample," stated singer Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning touched the lives of others."

Last week, the trust revealed it had rescued two grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.

One venue in the city and The Croft in the city were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "shares" in the properties.