Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the trust for venues, which operates to save the Britain's small live music spots.
The star was presented with the prize on October 16 as his latest record his work was named the top album of the previous year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots played in his initial steps.
"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," said the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
Recently, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.
He also participated, generating over £100k on his recent tour to help thirty-eight local spots across Britain.
These funds supported locations that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties arising from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.
Additional spaces received financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that funds from shows in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
When Pulp received the award in the mid-90s for their album the album, frontman Cocker declared that the group would donate their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite shared her award across multiple charities, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I donated a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required new equipment," she shared with outlets.
In recent years, they contributed their prize money to the community center that developed their group, as well as other independent music bodies.
Additionally winners that year they gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," remarked artist Small. "The prize was the cherry on top but we could do without the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory touched the lives of others."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had saved several small stages in that region, by placing them under community ownership.
The Joiners in Southampton and the second in Bristol were acquired under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
