Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 award prize money to the MVT, which operates to protect the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
Fender was given the prize on 16 October as his third album his work was declared the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
He has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it weren't for all the shows I played around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – roughly one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.
Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight local spots across the UK.
The donation helped spaces that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties caused by flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Other venues received funding support in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in large arenas backs the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.
When Pulp earned the prize in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would give their cash to the charity War Child.
That year, musician she divided her prize between multiple good causes, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," the artist told a publication.
In recent years, they gave their prize money to the local youth club that developed their band, in addition to other local music groups.
And 1994 winners M People gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.
"The victory was sufficient," stated singer Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched the lives of others."
In the past week, the trust shared it had protected two small stages in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in the city and the other in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the venues.
