The star has given the entirety of his £25,000 honor prize money to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
He was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his third album People Watching was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
He has decided to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the vital role grassroots venues had in his beginning days.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have shut down – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help local stages.
Fender also participated, raising in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous small stages across the UK.
The money helped spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to issues caused by flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations received financial assistance in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.
"The notion that funds from performances in major spaces backs the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.
When the band received the award in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, frontman Cocker announced that the band would give their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, musician she shared her award between multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I donated a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," she explained to a publication.
Previously, the band donated their winnings to the community center that developed their band, as well as other independent music bodies.
Also 1994 winners the group gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed the illness.
"The victory was ample," stated singer the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected the lives of others."
Recently, the trust announced it had rescued two grassroots venues in that region, by placing them under community ownership.
One venue in that area and the other in that location were acquired under the community ownership initiative, which is funded by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the properties.
