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Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 honor cash to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the Britain's independent concert spaces.

The star was presented with the cheque on mid-October as his latest record People Watching was named the top album of the previous year.

Fender has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role grassroots venues fulfilled in his early career.

"I personally would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," stated the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, over 150 of these locations have ceased operations – about 16% of the whole industry in the UK.

In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to help numerous grassroots venues across Britain.

The donation assisted spaces that were dealing with potential shutdown due to issues caused by floods, fires and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.

Other venues were granted financial assistance in modernizing facilities and sound and lighting systems that helped performers and fans.

"The concept that revenue from shows in big venues backs the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," the star has said.

The musician is among several artists to donate his award prize money to good deeds.

When the band won the award in 1996 for their release the album, lead singer Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would give their prize money to the charity the charity.

That year, artist the artist split her bounty among multiple good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"And I contributed a grand to my local community centre, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked new equipment," she explained to outlets.

In recent years, the band donated their winnings to the youth organization that supported their act, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

And 1994 winners the group contributed their award to a charity for MS after a friend was diagnosed the illness.

"Winning was sufficient," stated singer Heather Small. "The money was the extra but we could do without the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning touched the lives of others."

Recently, the MVT shared it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.

The Joiners in that area and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who purchase "shares" in the buildings.