The artist has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the Britain's small live music spots.
He was awarded the award on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the top album of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.
Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties stemming from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations received funding support in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that positively impacted performers and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from shows in major spaces backs the local stages, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.
Fender is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
Back when Pulp received the award in the mid-90s for their release the album, vocalist Cocker stated that the group would give their cash to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite split her bounty among several charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also gave a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.
Previously, the band donated their funds to the community center that supported their group, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Also winners that year M People contributed their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," said vocalist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success touched another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued two local spots in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
One venue in the city and The Croft in that location were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who purchase "ownership units" in the buildings.
