Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the Britain's grassroots music venues.
He was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his third album People Watching was declared the top album of the previous year.
Fender has decided to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
He also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous small stages across Britain.
The money helped locations that were confronting possible closure due to challenges arising from floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Some locations received monetary aid in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted musicians and audiences.
"The concept that money from performances in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.
Fender is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize winnings to good deeds.
When Pulp received the award in the year 1996 for their release the album, frontman the singer announced that the group would contribute their winnings to the charity the charity.
In 2002, artist the artist divided her prize among a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," the artist shared with outlets.
Previously, the band gave their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their band, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
And 1994 winners the group donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," remarked singer Heather Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.
One venue in Southampton and The Croft in that location were acquired under the community ownership program, which is supported by a national body and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.
