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Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25,000 award prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the Britain's small music venues.

Fender was presented with the prize on 16 October as his third album his work was named the best record of the last 12 months.

He has decided to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the essential function local spots played in his early career.

"I would not have achieved my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I did around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," said Fender. "These locations are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, major artists including the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by including a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.

He also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to assist thirty-eight small stages across the UK.

The donation assisted locations that were facing possible closure due to issues stemming from water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.

Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that helped artists and concertgoers.

"The concept that revenue from concerts in large arenas backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.

Fender is not the first artist to give his award winnings to charitable organizations.

When the band won the award in 1996 for their record Different Class, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their winnings to the organization the charity.

During 2002, musician she divided her bounty across multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"And I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required better apparatus," the artist shared with a publication.

Previously, Ezra Collective donated their funds to the youth organization that nurtured their group, as well as other grassroots music organisations.

Also winners that year they donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was found to have the condition.

"Receiving the award was quite enough," said vocalist Heather Small. "The money was the bonus but we didn't require the extra, because we had the main prize. So our winning affected the lives of others."

Recently, the MVT revealed it had saved two grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into local control.

The Joiners in Southampton and the other in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is supported by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.