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Sam Fender has handed over the entirety of his £25k honor prize money to the MVT, which operates to save the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.

The star was given the cheque on mid-October as his new release the album was chosen as the best record of the previous year.

Fender has chosen to give the cash to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role small stages had in his early career.

"I wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the performances I played around the North East, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," remarked the artist. "These locations are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have ceased operations – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

Over the past year, top acts including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to support the industry, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help independent venues.

Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist numerous local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation supported locations that were dealing with possible closure due to challenges arising from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and noise complaints.

Additional spaces received monetary aid in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that helped musicians and fans.

"The concept that revenue from shows in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it begins for artists like me, is just logical," Sam Fender has stated.

He is far from the only musician to donate his honor winnings to worthy causes.

Back when the band won the award in 1996 for their release the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker announced that the group would donate their winnings to the organization the charity.

That year, artist Ms Dynamite split her bounty between multiple organizations, such as the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also donated a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," she shared with outlets.

In recent years, the band donated their prize money to the community center that developed their group, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally winners that year M People donated their prize to a charity for MS after a friend was identified with the condition.

"Receiving the award was ample," said artist Heather Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our success impacted somebody else's life."

Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved several small stages in that region, by placing them under local control.

The Joiners in Southampton and The Croft in the city were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by Arts Council England and music fans who purchase "ownership units" in the buildings.