Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the trust for venues, which functions to save the Britain's independent live music spots.
The star was presented with the award on 16 October as his latest record his work was declared the top album of the last 12 months.
Fender has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots played in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about 16% of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.
Fender also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted spaces that were facing possible closure due to difficulties stemming from floods, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.
Some locations obtained monetary aid in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from performances in big venues helps the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his award prize money to charitable organizations.
Back when the band won the prize in 1996 for their album their work, frontman Cocker stated that the act would give their cash to the non-profit War Child.
That year, rapper and singer the artist divided her prize across a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I contributed a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with a publication.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the local youth club that developed their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
Also 1994 winners M People gave their prize to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the illness.
"Winning was ample," remarked artist Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted another person's life."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had protected a couple of local spots in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.
The Joiners in the city and The Croft in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
