Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25,000 honor prize money to the MVT, which functions to save the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
Fender was awarded the award on October 16 as his new release the album was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
The musician has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the crucial part grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.
"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the shows I did around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," said Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a small levy to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
He also took part, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to help numerous grassroots venues across Britain.
These funds supported venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues arising from floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Some locations received financial assistance in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted artists and audiences.
"The concept that money from performances in big venues helps the local stages, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.
He is among several artists to contribute his honor winnings to charitable organizations.
When they won the prize in the year 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Cocker declared that the act would donate their winnings to the organization War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer Ms Dynamite divided her bounty between several good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required new equipment," Ms Dynamite told outlets.
Previously, Ezra Collective donated their funds to the youth organization that supported their group, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
And 1994 winners M People donated their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was found to have the illness.
"The victory was ample," remarked vocalist the singer. "The cash was the bonus but we could do without the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our victory touched somebody else's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had protected several local spots in that region, by bringing them into local control.
One venue in Southampton and The Croft in the city were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by the arts council and music fans who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.
