Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the Britain's small music venues.
He was given the award on 16 October as his third album his work was declared the top album of the past year.
Fender has opted to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the vital role small stages played in his beginning days.
"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to support the industry, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to support 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
The money helped venues that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Other venues received monetary aid in improving facilities and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and fans.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just sensible," the star has said.
The musician is not the first artist to give his award funds to good deeds.
When they received the prize in the year 1996 for their release their work, vocalist Cocker announced that the act would give their prize money to the charity War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite split her prize across several organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I contributed a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed better apparatus," she shared with a publication.
In recent years, they gave their winnings to the community center that nurtured their band, as well as other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People gave their prize to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the illness.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," remarked singer Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory affected the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected a couple of local spots in that region, by transferring them to community ownership.
The first in that area and the second in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by a national body and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
