Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the Britain's small concert spaces.
He was awarded the cheque on 16 October as his third album People Watching was named the best record of the last 12 months.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his early career.
"I personally wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," remarked Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
The money assisted locations that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges arising from flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received monetary aid in modernizing amenities and gear that positively impacted musicians and fans.
"The idea that money from shows in major spaces backs the independent spots, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to donate his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
In the band earned the award in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Cocker stated that the group would give their cash to the charity War Child.
In 2002, musician Ms Dynamite split her prize among a few charities, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," the artist shared with a publication.
Two years ago, they gave their winnings to the local youth club that supported their group, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Also 1994 winners the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the illness.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning affected another person's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued a couple of local spots in south-east England, by placing them under local control.
One venue in the city and The Croft in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "ownership units" in the venues.
