Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the UK's small live music spots.
Fender was awarded the award on 16 October as his third album his work was named the outstanding release of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the shows I performed around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Recently, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
Fender also participated, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 small stages across the UK.
The money assisted spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties arising from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Some locations were granted monetary aid in improving facilities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The idea that money from performances in major spaces helps the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.
The musician is among several artists to give his honor prize money to good deeds.
When the band won the trophy in the mid-90s for their release their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would give their prize money to the non-profit the charity.
In 2002, musician the artist shared her bounty across several good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I contributed a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their prize money to the youth organization that supported their act, in addition to other local music groups.
And winners that year M People gave their award to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the disease.
"The victory was ample," stated singer Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success affected another person's life."
Last week, the trust revealed it had rescued a couple of small stages in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The Joiners in Southampton and the second in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who buy "ownership units" in the venues.
