Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k honor cash to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the Britain's small music venues.
Fender was given the prize on 16 October as his third album his work was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
Fender has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"As an artist would not have achieved what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these locations have ceased operations – about 16% of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
He also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous local spots across the UK.
The money supported locations that were confronting imminent closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, conflicts and noise complaints.
Some locations received financial assistance in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The notion that funds from performances in major spaces supports the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize winnings to worthy causes.
In they received the trophy in 1996 for their record the album, frontman Cocker declared that the act would donate their cash to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, artist the artist split her prize between a few good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed better apparatus," she explained to the media.
In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally the 1994 recipients the group donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was found to have the disease.
"The victory was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our success touched the lives of others."
In the past week, the trust announced it had protected two grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to local control.
The first in that area and the other in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who purchase "shares" in the venues.
