Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k award cash to the MVT, which works to preserve the United Kingdom's small concert spaces.
He was awarded the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
Fender has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages played in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have shut down – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.
Sam Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation helped spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to difficulties stemming from flooding, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as permit problems, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Some locations obtained financial assistance in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The idea that funds from shows in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it begins for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.
The musician is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
In Pulp earned the award in the mid-90s for their album the album, vocalist Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their winnings to the organization War Child.
That year, artist Ms Dynamite shared her prize across multiple organizations, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"I also gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
In recent years, the band donated their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their group, in addition to other local music groups.
Additionally winners that year M People contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the disease.
"Winning was ample," said vocalist Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved several grassroots venues in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.
One venue in the city and the second in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is funded by the arts council and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the properties.
