Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the trust for venues, which works to preserve the UK's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was given the prize on 16 October as his new release his work was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
The musician has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages played in his beginning days.
"I would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the shows I did around the area, and further afield, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these locations have shut down – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.
He also took part, raising over £100k on his recent tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across the UK.
These funds supported locations that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties caused by floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Some locations received financial assistance in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The concept that revenue from shows in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his award prize money to worthy causes.
In they won the trophy in 1996 for their album the album, frontman Cocker declared that the act would contribute their winnings to the charity the charity.
In 2002, rapper and singer she split her bounty between multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I gave a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," Ms Dynamite told outlets.
Two years ago, the band gave their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally winners that year M People donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"The victory was ample," said artist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and the other in that location were acquired under the community ownership program, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
