Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 award cash to the trust for venues, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's independent music venues.
He was given the prize on mid-October as his new release the album was named the top album of the last 12 months.
Fender has opted to give the cash to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part local spots played in his early career.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his recent tour to assist 38 local spots across Britain.
The money assisted venues that were facing possible closure due to challenges arising from floods, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and noise complaints.
Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted artists and fans.
"The notion that money from performances in big venues backs the local stages, where it begins for performers like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.
Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to good deeds.
When Pulp earned the award in the mid-90s for their album their work, frontman Cocker announced that the act would give their cash to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her prize between multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"Additionally, I donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the local youth club that supported their act, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally winners that year they donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated artist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning touched the lives of others."
Last week, the trust revealed it had protected two small stages in that region, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in that location were purchased under the public acquisition scheme, which is funded by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
