Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25k award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to protect the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was awarded the award on October 16 as his new release People Watching was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
He has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function grassroots venues had in his initial steps.
"I wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the performances I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its efforts to support the industry, by applying a small levy to their ticket prices, which benefits independent venues.
Sam Fender also participated, raising over £100k on his live tour to help thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation helped spaces that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges caused by flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces received financial assistance in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and fans.
"The concept that money from shows in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
When the band received the award in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would contribute their prize money to the organization the charity.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite divided her bounty across multiple organizations, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they required updated gear," the artist told the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their funds to the local youth club that supported their band, in addition to other local music groups.
Also winners that year M People gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," said vocalist the singer. "The money was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted another person's life."
Last week, the MVT announced it had protected two local spots in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.
The first in that area and the other in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who acquire "shares" in the buildings.
