The artist has given the complete sum of his £25,000 award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the Britain's independent concert spaces.
The star was presented with the prize on October 16 as his new release People Watching was declared the top album of the last 12 months.
The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages played in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the shows I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, major artists such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.
Fender also participated, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight small stages across the UK.
The money assisted locations that were facing possible closure due to issues arising from water damage, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained funding support in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and audiences.
"The notion that money from performances in big venues backs the independent spots, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.
The musician is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
In Pulp earned the prize in 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would give their cash to the charity the charity.
In 2002, artist the artist shared her prize across multiple charities, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," the artist shared with outlets.
Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that supported their act, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients M People donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the condition.
"Winning was sufficient," remarked singer the singer. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted the lives of others."
Last week, the MVT shared it had protected several local spots in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in the city and the second in that location were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is funded by a national body and supporters who purchase "shares" in the venues.
