Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the Britain's small concert spaces.
The star was presented with the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has decided to donate the funds to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages had in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Recently, major artists including the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
He also participated, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds helped locations that were facing imminent closure due to issues arising from floods, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Some locations obtained funding support in improving amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and fans.
"The notion that funds from concerts in big venues helps the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has said.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize funds to good deeds.
When the band won the prize in the year 1996 for their record their work, frontman Cocker stated that the band would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.
That year, rapper and singer she divided her prize across several good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked new equipment," the artist told the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the community center that nurtured their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally 1994 winners they donated their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the condition.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," said vocalist Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success affected somebody else's life."
Last week, the trust revealed it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The first in that area and the second in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership scheme, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "shares" in the venues.
