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Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.

Fender was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his new release People Watching was named the top album of the past year.

He has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages had in his initial steps.

"I would not have achieved my current career if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, major artists such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.

He also joined in, generating over £100k on his recent tour to help numerous local spots across Britain.

The money supported locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues arising from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.

Some locations were granted funding support in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.

"The concept that revenue from concerts in major spaces supports the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.

The musician is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.

Back when the band received the award in the mid-90s for their record their work, vocalist the singer declared that the group would give their cash to the charity War Child.

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

"I also gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they required updated gear," she explained to the media.

In recent years, they contributed their prize money to the community center that developed their band, in addition to other local music groups.

Additionally the 1994 recipients they contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the condition.

"The victory was quite enough," remarked vocalist Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success impacted somebody else's life."

Recently, the MVT announced it had protected several local spots in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.

The Joiners in Southampton and the other in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.