Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 award cash to the trust for venues, which functions to save the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
He was given the cheque on 16 October as his new release his work was named the top album of the previous year.
The musician has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the crucial part small stages had in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – roughly one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to support the industry, by including a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also took part, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight local spots across Britain.
These funds assisted venues that were facing potential shutdown due to issues arising from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and technical equipment that helped musicians and concertgoers.
"The notion that revenue from shows in big venues helps the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.
The musician is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize winnings to charitable organizations.
In Pulp received the trophy in 1996 for their album their work, lead singer Cocker stated that the band would donate their prize money to the organization War Child.
In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite divided her bounty between several organizations, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite told outlets.
In recent years, they donated their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their band, alongside other independent music bodies.
Also 1994 winners the group contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the condition.
"The victory was ample," said artist Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning touched the lives of others."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in Southampton and the other in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who buy "stakes" in the properties.
