The artist has handed over the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the UK's small live music spots.
He was presented with the prize on October 16 as his third album his work was named the best record of the last 12 months.
He has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role local spots played in his early career.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the total UK scene.
Recently, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Fender also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
These funds assisted venues that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges arising from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces received funding support in modernizing infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
When they won the prize in the year 1996 for their release Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their prize money to the organization War Child.
That year, artist the artist shared her bounty across several charities, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," she explained to the media.
Previously, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that nurtured their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally winners that year M People contributed their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was ample," stated artist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory impacted the lives of others."
In the past week, the MVT announced it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the properties.
