Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the MVT, which works to preserve the Britain's grassroots music venues.
Fender was given the cheque on October 16 as his latest record People Watching was named the best record of the past year.
He has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the total UK scene.
In the last year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising over £100k on his live tour to support 38 small stages across the UK.
The donation helped venues that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties stemming from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and audiences.
"The concept that revenue from shows in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has said.
The musician is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
When they earned the prize in 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman the singer announced that the band would donate their winnings to the organization War Child.
During 2002, musician she shared her bounty between a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," the artist shared with outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the community center that nurtured their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Also winners that year M People contributed their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.
"The victory was ample," stated artist the singer. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory touched another person's life."
Recently, the MVT revealed it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under local control.
The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in that location were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who buy "stakes" in the properties.
