Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the MVT, which operates to preserve the UK's grassroots concert spaces.
He was awarded the prize on mid-October as his third album People Watching was named the outstanding release of the past year.
Fender has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I personally would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these locations have ceased operations – approximately 16% of the total UK scene.
In the last year, well-known musicians like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which benefits independent venues.
Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his recent tour to support thirty-eight small stages across Britain.
These funds assisted spaces that were facing possible closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.
Some locations obtained monetary aid in upgrading facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and concertgoers.
"The idea that money from shows in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
When they received the award in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would donate their cash to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, musician the artist split her award across multiple organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," she told a publication.
Previously, the band contributed their winnings to the community center that developed their band, as well as other local music groups.
And winners that year they donated their prize to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked singer Heather Small. "The money was the bonus but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our success affected the lives of others."
Recently, the MVT revealed it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and the second in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.