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Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25k honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's small concert spaces.

The star was presented with the award on 16 October as his latest record his work was chosen as the top album of the last 12 months.

He has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his early career.

"I personally couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, major artists such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which goes to help independent venues.

Fender also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support numerous small stages across the UK.

The donation assisted spaces that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties arising from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.

Other venues obtained financial assistance in upgrading facilities and gear that helped performers and concertgoers.

"The concept that revenue from concerts in large arenas helps the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.

Fender is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.

When Pulp earned the prize in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.

During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her bounty across a few organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I gave a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.

In recent years, they donated their prize money to the local youth club that supported their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

Also winners that year M People gave their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.

"The victory was quite enough," said artist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our success touched another person's life."

Last week, the trust revealed it had protected several small stages in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.

The Joiners in that area and The Croft in the city were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by a national body and supporters who buy "stakes" in the venues.