Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 award cash to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
Fender was given the cheque on mid-October as his latest record the album was named the top album of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"I personally wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," said Sam Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – roughly 16% of the total UK scene.
Recently, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the MVT in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a small levy to their ticket costs, which goes to help independent venues.
He also joined in, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across the UK.
The money assisted locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to challenges caused by water damage, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and noise complaints.
Additional spaces received funding support in upgrading amenities and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and concertgoers.
"The idea that money from concerts in major spaces supports the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.
Fender is not the first artist to give his award funds to charitable organizations.
When they received the prize in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would give their cash to the organization War Child.
That year, musician she split her award between several good causes, like the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," Ms Dynamite shared with outlets.
Previously, Ezra Collective gave their funds to the community center that developed their band, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally winners that year M People gave their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the illness.
"The victory was ample," stated singer Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted another person's life."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had rescued two small stages in the South East, by placing them under local control.
The first in Southampton and the other in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by a national body and enthusiasts who acquire "shares" in the properties.
