Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.
He was awarded the prize on October 16 as his latest record the album was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues had in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it weren't for all the performances I performed around the region, and beyond, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these venues have ceased operations – roughly 16% of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians like Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
He also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds helped venues that were facing potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from water damage, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Some locations obtained monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from shows in big venues supports the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
Back when Pulp received the award in 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman the singer stated that the band would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
That year, musician Ms Dynamite split her prize between several charities, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," she shared with a publication.
Previously, they contributed their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their group, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally 1994 winners the group contributed their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.
"Winning was ample," said artist Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our victory impacted the lives of others."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected two small stages in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The Joiners in the city and the second in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the properties.
