Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which functions to protect the Britain's grassroots music venues.
Fender was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his third album the album was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the vital role small stages played in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved my current career if it weren't for all the performances I played around the area, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have ceased operations – about 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
Fender also joined in, collecting in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to support numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation helped locations that were confronting possible closure due to issues stemming from flooding, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received monetary aid in improving infrastructure and technical equipment that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The idea that funds from shows in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to give his award prize money to charitable organizations.
In they earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would donate their winnings to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite shared her award across multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," she explained to the media.
In recent years, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that supported their act, as well as other independent music bodies.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," said artist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted another person's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had saved several local spots in that region, by placing them under public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and the second in that location were bought under the public acquisition program, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the properties.
