Sam Fender has given the full amount of his £25k award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to save the Britain's grassroots live music spots.
The star was given the award on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was declared the best record of the past year.
The musician has opted to give the cash to the trust, in appreciation of the vital role small stages had in his beginning days.
"As an artist couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the performances I performed around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," remarked the artist. "These locations are renowned, but they are in difficulty."
Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have shut down – 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 supported the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which supports local stages.
Sam Fender also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to assist 38 local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to issues arising from water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.
Other venues received financial assistance in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that helped musicians and concertgoers.
"The concept that revenue from concerts in big venues helps the independent spots, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.
He is far from the only musician to donate his award funds to worthy causes.
When they received the award in the year 1996 for their release their work, vocalist the singer declared that the band would donate their cash to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer the artist shared her prize across several good causes, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," she told outlets.
In recent years, they donated their winnings to the youth organization that developed their group, as well as other grassroots music organisations.
Also 1994 winners they contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," stated singer Heather Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected another person's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved several grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into public stewardship.
The Joiners in the city and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the Own Our Venues initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who purchase "stakes" in the buildings.
