Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his twenty-five thousand pound award prize money to the MVT, which functions to protect the Britain's independent live music spots.
He was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his new release People Watching was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
Fender has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages had in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it weren't for all the performances I played around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said Sam Fender. "These venues are legendary, but they are struggling."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
Fender also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous grassroots venues across the UK.
These funds supported venues that were confronting possible closure due to challenges stemming from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Other venues obtained funding support in modernizing amenities and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from concerts in large arenas backs the local stages, where it all starts for artists like me, is just common sense," the star has commented.
The musician is among several artists to contribute his award winnings to worthy causes.
When Pulp won the award in the mid-90s for their release the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the group would donate their prize money to the charity War Child.
That year, rapper and singer she shared her bounty between several good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," the artist shared with a publication.
In recent years, they donated their funds to the local youth club that developed their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally 1994 winners they contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was found to have the illness.
"The victory was sufficient," remarked singer Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning impacted somebody else's life."
Last week, the trust revealed it had saved several small stages in the South East, by placing them under local control.
One venue in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is funded by the arts council and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.
