Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25k honor cash to the MVT, which functions to protect the UK's grassroots concert spaces.
Fender was given the prize on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was named the top album of the past year.
He has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing this success if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," stated the artist. "These locations are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.
Fender also took part, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds helped locations that were facing imminent closure due to issues caused by flooding, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces received monetary aid in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that positively impacted musicians and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from shows in large arenas backs the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has said.
He is not the first artist to contribute his honor funds to charitable organizations.
In they received the award in 1996 for their release their work, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer the artist split her bounty between multiple good causes, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a grand to the center, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they needed new equipment," Ms Dynamite explained to outlets.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective contributed their funds to the community center that supported their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
Also winners that year they gave their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was diagnosed the disease.
"The victory was ample," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."
Recently, the MVT revealed it had rescued several small stages in the South East, by bringing them into public stewardship.
One venue in the city and the second in that location were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by a national body and music fans who acquire "shares" in the properties.
