Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound honor cash to the MVT, which operates to save the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
He was given the award on 16 October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the top album of the previous year.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about 16% of the total UK scene.
In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.
Fender also joined in, raising over £100k on his recent tour to assist numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted venues that were facing possible closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in upgrading amenities and technical equipment that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The concept that funds from performances in large arenas helps the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has said.
Fender is among several artists to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.
In the band won the award in 1996 for their release the album, frontman Cocker declared that the band would donate their winnings to the non-profit the charity.
During 2002, rapper and singer she split her bounty between a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," she explained to the media.
Two years ago, they gave their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their group, as well as other local music groups.
Additionally winners that year M People contributed their prize to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.
"The victory was quite enough," stated artist the singer. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."
Last week, the trust announced it had saved a couple of small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in the city and The Croft in the city were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who buy "stakes" in the buildings.
