Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25k award prize money to the MVT, which works to protect the United Kingdom's small music venues.
Fender was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his third album his work was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
He has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in appreciation of the crucial part local spots played in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also participated, generating more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds supported venues that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues stemming from flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that helped artists and audiences.
"The notion that funds from performances in major spaces backs the smaller venues, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.
He is not the first artist to contribute his award prize money to good deeds.
When the band received the prize in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would contribute their winnings to the charity War Child.
In 2002, artist Ms Dynamite split her award among a few organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was growing up and they required better apparatus," she told the media.
Previously, the band donated their prize money to the local youth club that supported their band, as well as other local music groups.
Also the 1994 recipients M People gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the condition.
"Receiving the award was quite enough," said vocalist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the cake. So our success affected another person's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had protected two grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to local control.
One venue in Southampton and the other in Bristol were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is funded by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
