Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the UK's grassroots music venues.
He was given the prize on October 16 as his new release People Watching was chosen as the best record of the last 12 months.
Fender has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the essential function small stages fulfilled in his early career.
"I couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help independent venues.
Sam Fender also participated, raising over £100k on his live tour to help thirty-eight small stages across the UK.
These funds supported venues that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties stemming from water damage, blazes and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted financial assistance in modernizing amenities and technical equipment that helped performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that funds from concerts in big venues supports the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has said.
Fender is far from the only musician to donate his award prize money to worthy causes.
When the band earned the trophy in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would contribute their cash to the non-profit War Child.
That year, musician Ms Dynamite divided her prize between multiple organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"And I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed new equipment," she shared with a publication.
Two years ago, they contributed their funds to the youth organization that developed their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Also winners that year they gave their award to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"The victory was ample," stated vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the cherry on top but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our success touched another person's life."
Recently, the trust announced it had saved two grassroots venues in that region, by transferring them to local control.
The first in that area and the second in the city were acquired under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the properties.
