Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 award cash to the MVT, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
He was given the cheque on mid-October as his third album the album was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots had in his early career.
"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, top acts including the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to support the industry, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
Sam Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges caused by water damage, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in improving infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The concept that funds from shows in big venues supports the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has said.
Fender is among several artists to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
When the band received the prize in the year 1996 for their album the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would contribute their prize money to the charity War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her bounty across several charities, like the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I donated a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," she shared with the media.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the community center that nurtured their group, alongside other independent music bodies.
And 1994 winners the group gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," said vocalist Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched another person's life."
In the past week, the MVT revealed it had saved several local spots in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in the city and the other in the city were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.
