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The star has donated the complete sum of his £25k honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the UK's small live music spots.

Fender was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his latest record the album was named the top album of the last 12 months.

Fender has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.

"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly 16% of the entire UK sector.

Recently, well-known musicians like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight local spots across the UK.

The money assisted spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties caused by floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Additional spaces were granted monetary aid in upgrading facilities and gear that directly benefitted artists and audiences.

"The idea that money from shows in big venues helps the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has said.

Fender is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

When they won the award in the year 1996 for their album the album, frontman Cocker declared that the group would give their prize money to the organization War Child.

That year, artist Ms Dynamite shared her bounty among several good causes, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," the artist shared with the media.

Two years ago, the band gave their funds to the community center that nurtured their act, alongside other local music groups.

Also 1994 winners they contributed their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the illness.

"Winning was sufficient," stated singer the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our success touched the lives of others."

Last week, the MVT shared it had protected several grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.

One venue in Southampton and The Croft in the city were acquired under the community ownership program, which is funded by a national body and supporters who acquire "shares" in the buildings.