Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the trust for venues, which works to save the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
The star was presented with the prize on mid-October as his latest record the album was declared the top album of the previous year.
The musician has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the area, and further afield, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also took part, generating over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money supported spaces that were facing possible closure due to issues caused by floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Other venues received funding support in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that funds from shows in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it all starts for performers like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has stated.
He is not the first artist to donate his award winnings to charitable organizations.
Back when they earned the prize in the year 1996 for their album their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would give their prize money to the charity War Child.
That year, musician the artist shared her award among a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I donated a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," she told a publication.
Previously, they donated their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their group, in addition to other local music groups.
Additionally the 1994 recipients M People contributed their award to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"Winning was ample," said vocalist the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we could do without the bonus, because we had the cake. So our victory touched another person's life."
Recently, the MVT announced it had rescued a couple of small stages in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in the city were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the properties.