Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the Britain's small live music spots.
The star was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his latest record People Watching was named the outstanding release of the previous year.
He has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the vital role small stages had in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the shows I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these locations have shut down – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also participated, raising over £100k on his recent tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.
The money helped spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to issues arising from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted artists and audiences.
"The concept that funds from performances in large arenas helps the independent spots, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," the star has commented.
He is among several artists to contribute his award funds to worthy causes.
Back when they earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their record the album, lead singer Cocker stated that the act would contribute their cash to the non-profit the charity.
During 2002, musician she divided her bounty across multiple organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required updated gear," she told outlets.
In recent years, they contributed their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their group, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Also 1994 winners M People contributed their award to a MS organization after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.
"The victory was sufficient," said singer Heather Small. "The money was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected the lives of others."
In the past week, the trust announced it had rescued several small stages in south-east England, by placing them under local control.
The Joiners in that area and The Croft in the city were acquired under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and supporters who purchase "shares" in the buildings.
