Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 award cash to the MVT, which operates to save the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
Fender was given the prize on mid-October as his new release his work was chosen as the top album of the last 12 months.
Fender has decided to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the essential function small stages played in his initial steps.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Recently, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.
Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his recent tour to help numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds helped spaces that were facing possible closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained monetary aid in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and audiences.
"The notion that funds from performances in big venues supports the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has stated.
He is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
In the band won the prize in 1996 for their album their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would give their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite divided her award among several charities, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required updated gear," she told outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the local youth club that developed their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also the 1994 recipients they contributed their award to a charity for MS after a friend was diagnosed the illness.
"Winning was ample," remarked artist the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted another person's life."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in the city and the second in that location were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by the arts council and supporters who buy "shares" in the buildings.
