Sam Fender has donated the full amount of his £25k award winnings to the MVT, which operates to save the Britain's independent music venues.
Fender was presented with the award on mid-October as his third album the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.
Fender has opted to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"As an artist would not have achieved my current career if it weren't for all the performances I played around the area, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."
Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, top acts like Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the MVT in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their ticket costs, which benefits independent venues.
He also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation assisted locations that were facing possible closure due to challenges stemming from floods, fires and personal losses, as well as permit problems, conflicts and sound issues.
Some locations were granted funding support in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that directly benefitted musicians and fans.
"The idea that money from shows in large arenas supports the independent spots, where it all starts for artists like me, is just sensible," the star has said.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his award prize money to charitable organizations.
When Pulp received the prize in 1996 for their release the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the band would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, artist the artist divided her bounty across several good causes, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell charity.
"Additionally, I contributed a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked updated gear," the artist told a publication.
Previously, they gave their winnings to the youth organization that developed their band, alongside other local music groups.
And the 1994 recipients the group gave their prize to a charity for MS after a close contact was found to have the disease.
"Winning was ample," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the extra but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
Recently, the Music Venues Trust shared it had protected a couple of grassroots venues in the South East, by bringing them into local control.
The first in the city and the second in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is backed by Arts Council England and music fans who acquire "ownership units" in the buildings.
