Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's grassroots concert spaces.
The star was presented with the award on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was named the best record of the previous year.
Fender has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages had in his beginning days.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which benefits smaller concert halls.
He also took part, generating over £100k on his live tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
The money supported venues that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues arising from flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Some locations received funding support in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that positively impacted performers and audiences.
"The concept that money from performances in large arenas supports the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.
Back when the band received the award in 1996 for their record the album, frontman the singer announced that the band would donate their winnings to the charity the charity.
In 2002, musician she split her prize among multiple good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," the artist shared with the media.
In recent years, they donated their funds to the youth organization that developed their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And the 1994 recipients M People gave their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Winning was ample," remarked singer Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."
Last week, the trust shared it had saved a couple of local spots in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
The Joiners in that area and the second in the city were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who purchase "shares" in the properties.
