Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which functions to preserve the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
The star was given the award on 16 October as his latest record the album was chosen as the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role local spots played in his beginning days.
"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Recently, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.
He also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support numerous small stages across the UK.
These funds assisted spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges arising from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.
Other venues received monetary aid in improving infrastructure and gear that helped musicians and audiences.
"The notion that money from concerts in big venues supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
Back when Pulp won the award in the mid-90s for their release the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would contribute their prize money to the charity War Child.
In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite shared her award across several good causes, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also contributed a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
In recent years, the band contributed their funds to the youth organization that developed their act, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Also winners that year M People donated their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"Winning was quite enough," stated artist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success impacted the lives of others."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued a couple of small stages in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in Southampton and the other in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who purchase "shares" in the venues.
