The artist has donated the complete sum of his £25k honor winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to save the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
The star was given the prize on October 16 as his new release People Watching was chosen as the best record of the past year.
He has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the vital role grassroots venues played in his initial steps.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues arising from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations received monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
Back when the band earned the award in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, vocalist the singer stated that the band would donate their prize money to the charity War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer the artist shared her award between multiple charities, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also donated a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," she shared with outlets.
In recent years, the band contributed their prize money to the community center that developed their group, alongside other local music groups.
And winners that year M People donated their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the illness.
"The victory was ample," said vocalist Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success impacted another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected two grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under public stewardship.
The first in that area and The Croft in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the properties.
