The artist has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 award prize money to the MVT, which functions to protect the Britain's small concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the award on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages had in his early career.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing this success if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, well-known musicians including Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by adding a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
He also took part, raising over £100k on his recent tour to support numerous local spots across the UK.
The money assisted spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties arising from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that funds from shows in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.
He is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.
In the band earned the prize in the mid-90s for their record their work, vocalist Cocker announced that the group would donate their prize money to the non-profit the charity.
That year, musician she split her award between multiple charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," she told outlets.
In recent years, they contributed their winnings to the local youth club that nurtured their act, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally 1994 winners M People gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.
"The victory was quite enough," stated artist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted another person's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected two small stages in the South East, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in Southampton and the second in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
