Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k honor winnings to the MVT, which functions to protect the UK's small live music spots.
The star was presented with the award on October 16 as his new release the album was named the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has opted to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I played around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which goes to help independent venues.
Sam Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his live tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money helped locations that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties caused by flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.
Additional spaces obtained funding support in upgrading facilities and gear that helped performers and audiences.
"The concept that money from performances in major spaces helps the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just logical," the star has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to donate his award funds to worthy causes.
In they received the trophy in 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would donate their cash to the organization War Child.
That year, musician Ms Dynamite split her award among a few good causes, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," the artist explained to outlets.
In recent years, they contributed their prize money to the local youth club that developed their act, as well as other independent music bodies.
Additionally 1994 winners M People contributed their award to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.
"Receiving the award was sufficient," stated singer the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the cake. So our winning affected the lives of others."
Recently, the MVT shared it had saved several small stages in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.
One venue in Southampton and the second in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition program, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the properties.
