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Sam Fender has donated the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the trust for venues, which works to save the Britain's small concert spaces.

Fender was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his latest record the album was declared the best record of the last 12 months.

He has opted to hand the money over to the MVT, in appreciation of the essential function small stages had in his beginning days.

"I personally wouldn't be doing my current career if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, major artists including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports local stages.

Fender also participated, generating over £100k on his live tour to support 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The money helped spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties caused by water damage, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and noise complaints.

Additional spaces were granted financial assistance in modernizing infrastructure and technical equipment that positively impacted musicians and fans.

"The concept that money from performances in major spaces supports the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.

Fender is far from the only musician to contribute his honor funds to worthy causes.

Back when the band won the trophy in the mid-90s for their album the album, lead singer the singer announced that the group would give their winnings to the charity War Child.

That year, musician Ms Dynamite shared her prize between several charities, including the children's charity and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also gave a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," Ms Dynamite told the media.

In recent years, they contributed their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their act, alongside other local music groups.

Additionally the 1994 recipients they donated their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.

"Winning was quite enough," remarked artist the singer. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the honor. So our success touched somebody else's life."

Recently, the MVT revealed it had saved a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into public stewardship.

The first in the city and the other in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England and supporters who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.