Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the MVT, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's small music venues.
The star was presented with the prize on October 16 as his third album People Watching was declared the best record of the last 12 months.
He has opted to donate the funds to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the crucial part grassroots venues played in his beginning days.
"I couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the gigs I did around the region, and further afield, when I was starting out," remarked Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these venues have shut down – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.
Recently, top acts such as the band Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which goes to help local stages.
He also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.
The money assisted venues that were dealing with imminent closure due to issues arising from floods, blazes and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Other venues obtained financial assistance in improving infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.
"The notion that money from concerts in large arenas supports the local stages, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just logical," Fender has said.
Fender is not the first artist to contribute his award winnings to charitable organizations.
When Pulp received the trophy in the year 1996 for their album their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker announced that the band would give their cash to the non-profit the charity.
In 2002, musician she split her prize between multiple charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I contributed a grand to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," the artist shared with outlets.
In recent years, they gave their prize money to the community center that developed their group, as well as other local music groups.
Also winners that year they gave their award to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the disease.
"Receiving the award was ample," remarked artist Small. "The prize was the bonus but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our winning affected another person's life."
Recently, the trust announced it had protected several small stages in south-east England, by placing them under local control.
The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in that location were bought under the community ownership program, which is supported by the arts council and music fans who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.
