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The star has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which works to protect the Britain's small music venues.

He was given the prize on mid-October as his new release People Watching was named the best record of the past year.

The musician has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his early career.

"I wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

He also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.

These funds helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to challenges caused by floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.

Other venues obtained funding support in improving facilities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and fans.

"The notion that revenue from performances in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.

Fender is far from the only musician to donate his honor prize money to charitable organizations.

When Pulp earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their album Different Class, frontman Cocker declared that the act would give their prize money to the organization the charity.

In 2002, artist she divided her bounty among several good causes, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"Additionally, I donated a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," the artist shared with outlets.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the youth organization that supported their act, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

Also 1994 winners M People gave their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.

"The victory was quite enough," remarked vocalist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our success impacted somebody else's life."

Last week, the MVT revealed it had saved a couple of local spots in the South East, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The Joiners in that area and the second in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.