Sam Fender has given the complete sum of his £25,000 honor prize money to the trust for venues, which functions to preserve the Britain's independent concert spaces.
He was presented with the prize on 16 October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the top album of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues played in his early career.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the area, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked Sam Fender. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."
From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.
Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports local stages.
He also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight small stages across the UK.
The donation helped locations that were confronting imminent closure due to issues arising from floods, blazes and bereavements, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and neighbor objections.
Some locations obtained financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted performers and audiences.
"The idea that revenue from shows in big venues backs the independent spots, where it begins for artists like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has said.
The musician is among several artists to contribute his award winnings to good deeds.
When Pulp received the prize in the mid-90s for their album the album, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, artist Ms Dynamite divided her award between a few charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also gave a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," the artist explained to a publication.
In recent years, they donated their funds to the local youth club that developed their act, alongside other local music groups.
Also the 1994 recipients the group gave their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was diagnosed the illness.
"The victory was quite enough," remarked vocalist the singer. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our success touched somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected two grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.
The Joiners in that area and the second in that location were acquired under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.