Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25,000 honor winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to save the Britain's small concert spaces.
The star was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his new release the album was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
The musician has opted to hand the money over to the trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function local spots had in his initial steps.
"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the shows I did around the North East, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these locations have shut down – about one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, top acts like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket costs, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across Britain.
The money assisted venues that were facing potential shutdown due to issues arising from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Other venues were granted funding support in upgrading facilities and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The concept that money from performances in large arenas backs the independent spots, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
Fender is far from the only musician to donate his honor prize money to worthy causes.
In the band earned the trophy in the year 1996 for their album Different Class, lead singer Cocker announced that the act would contribute their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, musician Ms Dynamite shared her award across several good causes, such as the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked updated gear," she told a publication.
Previously, the band donated their prize money to the local youth club that nurtured their band, as well as other local music groups.
Also 1994 winners they donated their award to a MS organization after a friend was identified with the illness.
"Receiving the award was ample," remarked singer Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory affected another person's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had saved several small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.
One venue in Southampton and The Croft in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who buy "stakes" in the venues.
