Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to protect the Britain's small music venues.
Fender was given the cheque on 16 October as his third album People Watching was named the top album of the previous year.
He has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages played in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, top acts including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
He also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation assisted venues that were facing imminent closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Other venues received funding support in modernizing amenities and gear that directly benefitted performers and fans.
"The idea that money from shows in large arenas backs the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.
He is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
Back when the band received the award in 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman the singer stated that the band would give their prize money to the non-profit the charity.
That year, musician the artist split her award among a few good causes, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I contributed a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite shared with a publication.
Two years ago, they donated their winnings to the local youth club that developed their act, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Also 1994 winners M People donated their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the disease.
"Winning was sufficient," said vocalist Small. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved two grassroots venues in the South East, by placing them under local control.
The Joiners in the city and the other in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership program, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the venues.
