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Sam Fender has given the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the United Kingdom's independent music venues.

Fender was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his third album the album was named the outstanding release of the past year.

Fender has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages fulfilled in his early career.

"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I did around the area, and further afield, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, major artists such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.

Sam Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help 38 local spots across the UK.

These funds helped locations that were facing potential shutdown due to issues caused by flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.

Some locations were granted monetary aid in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that positively impacted performers and fans.

"The idea that money from performances in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," the star has said.

Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to good deeds.

In they received the award in 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the act would contribute their prize money to the organization the charity.

That year, artist the artist divided her award between multiple good causes, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I gave a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," she told a publication.

In recent years, the band contributed their funds to the community center that supported their act, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.

And the 1994 recipients they gave their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was diagnosed the illness.

"Winning was ample," stated vocalist Small. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."

Recently, the trust shared it had protected several grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.

One venue in the city and the other in that location were bought under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is funded by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the buildings.