Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to preserve the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.
The star was awarded the prize on mid-October as his latest record his work was chosen as the outstanding release of the past year.
He has chosen to donate the funds to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the performances I played around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, major artists like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
Fender also took part, collecting over £100k on his live tour to support 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
The donation helped spaces that were facing possible closure due to difficulties caused by floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.
Additional spaces obtained financial assistance in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from shows in big venues supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has commented.
He is not the first artist to donate his honor prize money to worthy causes.
In they won the trophy in 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would contribute their cash to the non-profit War Child.
That year, rapper and singer the artist shared her bounty among several good causes, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I gave a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they needed updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
In recent years, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the local youth club that supported their group, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally 1994 winners the group contributed their award to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the disease.
"The victory was sufficient," said artist the singer. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning affected somebody else's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued two local spots in the South East, by placing them under local control.
The Joiners in that area and the second in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition scheme, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the properties.
