Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 honor prize money to the MVT, which works to save the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
Fender was awarded the award on mid-October as his new release the album was named the outstanding release of the past year.
Fender has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages had in his beginning days.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.
Recently, top acts such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
He also participated, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight local spots across Britain.
These funds helped locations that were confronting possible closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.
Additional spaces obtained monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that positively impacted artists and audiences.
"The concept that money from shows in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just sensible," the star has stated.
He is not the first artist to contribute his award prize money to worthy causes.
When Pulp won the award in the year 1996 for their release their work, frontman the singer declared that the band would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite divided her award between a few good causes, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I donated a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed new equipment," the artist shared with outlets.
In recent years, they gave their prize money to the youth organization that developed their band, as well as other independent music bodies.
And 1994 winners the group donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was diagnosed the disease.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated singer Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted another person's life."
Last week, the MVT revealed it had protected two local spots in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.
One venue in the city and The Croft in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by a national body and supporters who buy "shares" in the buildings.
