Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25,000 honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
He was awarded the award on October 16 as his latest record his work was declared the best record of the past year.
He has opted to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots had in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, major artists such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his recent tour to support 38 grassroots venues across the UK.
These funds assisted locations that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties caused by flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces received financial assistance in upgrading facilities and gear that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that revenue from performances in big venues supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," the star has stated.
Fender is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
When Pulp earned the prize in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist the singer stated that the act would give their prize money to the non-profit the charity.
That year, musician the artist split her award across several charities, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," the artist told the media.
In recent years, they gave their funds to the youth organization that supported their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
Additionally winners that year M People gave their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was found to have the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," said vocalist the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted another person's life."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had protected a couple of small stages in south-east England, by placing them under local control.
The first in Southampton and the other in that location were bought under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "shares" in the properties.
