Sam Fender has donated the complete sum of his £25k honor prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
The star was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was chosen as 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 fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I did around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – roughly 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
He also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support numerous local spots across the UK.
The donation assisted locations that were confronting imminent closure due to issues arising from floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.
Some locations were granted monetary aid in upgrading facilities and gear that helped artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that revenue from performances in large arenas supports the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.
Fender is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.
When they won the trophy in the year 1996 for their record the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the act would donate their prize money to the organization War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer the artist shared her prize among several good causes, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they needed updated gear," the artist told outlets.
Previously, Ezra Collective donated their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their act, alongside other local music groups.
Also the 1994 recipients M People gave their prize to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the disease.
"Winning was ample," said artist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had saved two grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in that area and The Croft in that location were acquired under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
