Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k honor prize money to the MVT, which works to protect the Britain's small music venues.
He was given the cheque on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was named the best record of the previous year.
He has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the vital role local spots had in his early career.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the performances I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
Recently, top acts such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their ticket prices, which benefits local stages.
He also joined in, raising over £100k on his recent tour to support numerous small stages across Britain.
The donation supported venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues caused by floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.
Some locations obtained financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.
"The idea that money from shows in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
He is far from the only musician to donate his Mercury Prize funds to worthy causes.
In the band won the award in 1996 for their record Different Class, vocalist Cocker declared that the act would give their winnings to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer she split her award among several organizations, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I donated a grand to the center, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed better apparatus," the artist explained to a publication.
Two years ago, they donated their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their act, alongside other independent music bodies.
Also the 1994 recipients the group gave their award to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the illness.
"Winning was sufficient," remarked artist Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning impacted the lives of others."
In the past week, the MVT shared it had rescued several local spots in that region, by placing them under local control.
One venue in that area and the second in the city were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.
