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Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize cash to the MVT, which operates to save the UK's grassroots live music spots.

The star was presented with the award on October 16 as his third album the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.

He has decided to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages played in his beginning days.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the area, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These locations are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits local stages.

Fender also took part, collecting over £100k on his live tour to help 38 grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

These funds supported locations that were confronting possible closure due to challenges arising from flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and noise complaints.

Other venues obtained financial assistance in modernizing facilities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and audiences.

"The idea that money from shows in big venues helps the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just sensible," Fender has commented.

Fender is not the first artist to donate his award funds to charitable organizations.

Back when Pulp won the trophy in 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would contribute their cash to the non-profit the charity.

That year, musician Ms Dynamite split her bounty between a few good causes, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"Additionally, I donated a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked new equipment," the artist explained to the media.

Previously, Ezra Collective contributed their winnings to the community center that nurtured their group, alongside other local music groups.

Additionally 1994 winners they contributed their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.

"The victory was ample," said singer the singer. "The money was the cherry on top but we could do without the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted another person's life."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected several local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into public stewardship.

One venue in that area and The Croft in that location were acquired under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.