Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to save the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.
He was presented with the award on mid-October as his third album the album was declared the top album of the past year.
He has opted to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I did around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These spaces are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its efforts to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous small stages across Britain.
The money supported venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties caused by water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Some locations received funding support in modernizing amenities and gear that helped artists and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from shows in major spaces backs the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," the star has commented.
He is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to good deeds.
Back when Pulp earned the prize in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, frontman the singer stated that the group would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.
During 2002, artist Ms Dynamite shared her bounty between a few good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," she shared with outlets.
Previously, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the youth organization that supported their band, alongside other independent music bodies.
And the 1994 recipients M People gave their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"Winning was ample," remarked singer Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success touched somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust revealed it had saved two grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.
The Joiners in the city and the other in that location were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who buy "stakes" in the buildings.
