Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k honor prize money to the MVT, which operates to protect the Britain's grassroots music venues.
He was awarded the prize on mid-October as his new release the album was chosen as the top album of the last 12 months.
He has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the essential function local spots played in his early career.
"I personally would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the performances I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.
Fender also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 local spots across Britain.
These funds helped venues that were facing possible closure due to challenges arising from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations received financial assistance in improving facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The idea that money from performances in major spaces helps the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.
Fender is among several artists to donate his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
When they won the prize in 1996 for their release their work, frontman the singer announced that the group would donate their prize money to the non-profit the charity.
In 2002, artist the artist divided her bounty among multiple charities, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite told a publication.
Previously, the band contributed their prize money to the local youth club that developed their band, in addition to other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People contributed their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated singer Heather Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success touched another person's life."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had protected a couple of local spots in south-east England, by placing them under local control.
The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in the city were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "shares" in the properties.
