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Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the trust for venues, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.

The star was given the award on October 16 as his new release People Watching was declared the top album of the previous year.

Fender has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages had in his early career.

"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have ceased operations – roughly one-sixth of the entire UK sector.

Recently, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.

Fender also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds helped locations that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties arising from floods, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.

Additional spaces received financial assistance in upgrading amenities and gear that positively impacted musicians and fans.

"The concept that revenue from performances in major spaces supports the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has said.

Fender is among several artists to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.

Back when they won the prize in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, lead singer the singer announced that the group would donate their cash to the non-profit War Child.

That year, musician the artist divided her award between several charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also donated a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with a publication.

In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their winnings to the local youth club that developed their act, in addition to other local music groups.

Additionally winners that year M People donated their prize to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the illness.

"Winning was sufficient," said artist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted the lives of others."

Recently, the MVT shared it had protected two grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to local control.

The first in Southampton and the other in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who buy "stakes" in the venues.