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Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 honor cash to the MVT, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's small music venues.

The star was presented with the award on 16 October as his latest record the album was declared the best record of the past year.

He has decided to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.

"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.

Sam Fender also participated, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The money supported locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties arising from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.

Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing amenities and gear that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.

"The concept that money from shows in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it begins for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.

The musician is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

In the band received the award in 1996 for their album their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would contribute their winnings to the non-profit the charity.

That year, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her prize between a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"I also donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," she shared with outlets.

In recent years, they contributed their winnings to the local youth club that supported their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally the 1994 recipients they gave their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the condition.

"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated singer the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory touched another person's life."

Recently, the MVT shared it had protected two small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.

The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.