Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the MVT, which functions to save the UK's independent concert spaces.
He was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his new release the album was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it weren't for all the shows I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – roughly one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, major artists including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports smaller concert halls.
Sam Fender also took part, raising over £100k on his live tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.
The donation assisted locations that were facing possible closure due to challenges stemming from water damage, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and sound issues.
Additional spaces received financial assistance in upgrading facilities and gear that helped artists and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in big venues backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.
Fender is not the first artist to give his award prize money to good deeds.
When Pulp earned the award in 1996 for their album their work, vocalist the singer declared that the act would give their prize money to the organization War Child.
During 2002, artist the artist shared her prize across several organizations, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I contributed a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," she told outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Also 1994 winners M People donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," remarked artist Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched the lives of others."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected two small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.
One venue in the city and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the properties.
