Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the MVT, which operates to preserve the Britain's independent live music spots.
He was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his new release People Watching was declared the best record of the past year.
He has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," stated Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.
He also took part, raising over £100k on his live tour to assist numerous small stages across Britain.
These funds helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to issues stemming from flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.
Some locations received monetary aid in upgrading facilities and gear that helped performers and audiences.
"The notion that funds from shows in large arenas backs the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.
The musician is not the first artist to contribute his award funds to worthy causes.
In the band received the prize in 1996 for their album the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would give their winnings to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer the artist divided her award across a few organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," the artist told the media.
Previously, they contributed their winnings to the community center that developed their group, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally the 1994 recipients they gave their award to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the illness.
"The victory was sufficient," stated vocalist Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."
Last week, the trust announced it had saved two small stages in the South East, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The Joiners in that area and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership program, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who buy "shares" in the venues.
