Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the trust for venues, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
The star was given the cheque on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was chosen as the best record of the past year.
The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.
"I would not have achieved my current career if it weren't for all the gigs I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
Fender also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous small stages across the UK.
The donation helped locations that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties stemming from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Some locations obtained funding support in upgrading amenities and gear that helped musicians and fans.
"The concept that funds from concerts in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has said.
The musician is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
In Pulp received the trophy in the year 1996 for their album their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would contribute their winnings to the organization the charity.
That year, rapper and singer she split her bounty between multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite told a publication.
In recent years, they contributed their funds to the youth organization that supported their band, alongside other independent music bodies.
Additionally 1994 winners M People donated their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," stated singer the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had rescued two small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.
The Joiners in that area and The Croft in the city were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who acquire "shares" in the buildings.
