Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 honor prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to preserve the UK's small concert spaces.
Fender was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his third album his work was chosen as the top album of the previous year.
Fender has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages had in his beginning days.
"I personally would not have achieved my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," stated Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists like the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by including a small levy to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.
Fender also joined in, raising over £100k on his live tour to help numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
The donation supported venues that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.
Some locations were granted monetary aid in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that helped musicians and fans.
"The idea that money from shows in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it all starts for artists like me, is just logical," the star has commented.
The musician is far from the only musician to give his award funds to worthy causes.
When the band earned the award in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would contribute their prize money to the charity the charity.
That year, musician she split her prize across several organizations, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," the artist told a publication.
Two years ago, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the local youth club that developed their act, alongside other independent music bodies.
Also winners that year they gave their award to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the condition.
"Winning was quite enough," said vocalist the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our success affected somebody else's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust shared it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in that region, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The Joiners in the city and the other in that location were acquired under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who purchase "shares" in the buildings.
