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Sam Fender has handed over the complete sum of his £25,000 honor prize money to the trust for venues, which operates to protect the UK's grassroots music venues.

The star was awarded the award on mid-October as his third album the album was declared the outstanding release of the past year.

The musician has chosen to hand the money over to the trust, in recognition of the essential function grassroots venues played in his beginning days.

"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these venues have shut down – approximately 16% of the entire UK sector.

Over the past year, major artists including Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by including a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits local stages.

Sam Fender also participated, collecting over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The money supported venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties caused by water damage, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, legal disputes and sound issues.

Some locations were granted monetary aid in improving infrastructure and gear that helped performers and fans.

"The concept that revenue from shows in big venues helps the independent spots, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," the star has commented.

The musician is not the first artist to donate his award winnings to charitable organizations.

In they won the award in the mid-90s for their release their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would donate their winnings to the non-profit the charity.

During 2002, artist Ms Dynamite shared her award across multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I gave a £1,000 to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics class, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they required better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told the media.

Previously, the band contributed their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their band, in addition to other local music groups.

Additionally 1994 winners they donated their prize to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the condition.

"Receiving the award was ample," stated singer Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the main prize. So our success affected the lives of others."

Recently, the MVT shared it had rescued two grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.

The first in the city and the second in that location were bought under the public acquisition program, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who buy "shares" in the properties.