The star has donated the full amount of his £25,000 award winnings to the MVT, which works to protect the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was awarded the prize on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the top album of the last 12 months.
Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots played in his early career.
"I personally wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.
Fender also joined in, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight local spots across the UK.
These funds supported spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues caused by water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and sound issues.
Some locations obtained funding support in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from performances in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.
He is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.
Back when Pulp received the award in the mid-90s for their album Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
That year, artist the artist shared her prize among a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," the artist shared with the media.
Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the community center that developed their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People gave their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," remarked artist Heather Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected the lives of others."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved two small stages in that region, by placing them under local control.
One venue in the city and the other in that location were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
