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Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25k award cash to the MVT, which works to protect the Britain's small live music spots.

Fender was given the cheque on mid-October as his latest record his work was declared the best record of the last 12 months.

Fender has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots played in his early career.

"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the performances I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated Sam Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are struggling."

Beginning in 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – roughly 16 percent of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, major artists including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports local stages.

He also took part, raising more than £100,000 on his live tour to assist 38 grassroots venues across the UK.

These funds supported locations that were dealing with imminent closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Some locations obtained monetary aid in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted performers and fans.

"The idea that money from concerts in big venues helps the smaller venues, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just sensible," Sam Fender has commented.

Fender is among several artists to contribute his award winnings to good deeds.

When they won the trophy in 1996 for their album Different Class, vocalist Jarvis Cocker announced that the act would contribute their cash to the organization War Child.

In 2002, musician the artist split her award between a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"And I donated a thousand pounds to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," the artist explained to a publication.

Previously, the band donated their prize money to the community center that supported their act, in addition to other independent music bodies.

And winners that year the group contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a close contact was diagnosed the condition.

"Receiving the award was ample," said singer Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the cake. So our success affected the lives of others."

Recently, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved two local spots in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.

The first in the city and the second in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership initiative, which is backed by the arts council and supporters who purchase "ownership units" in the properties.