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The star has handed over the full amount of his £25,000 honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the United Kingdom's independent concert spaces.

He was awarded the award on 16 October as his latest record the album was declared the best record of the past year.

Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots played in his initial steps.

"I would not have achieved this success if it weren't for all the performances I played around the region, and beyond, when I was beginning," stated Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Since the start of 2023, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help local stages.

Fender also joined in, raising in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support thirty-eight small stages across Britain.

The donation assisted locations that were facing potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from floods, fires and family tragedies, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.

Other venues received financial assistance in improving facilities and technical equipment that helped musicians and audiences.

"The concept that money from shows in big venues backs the independent spots, where it kicks off for artists like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.

Fender is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.

When Pulp earned the prize in the mid-90s for their album the album, frontman Cocker announced that the band would give their prize money to the non-profit War Child.

That year, artist the artist split her prize among several good causes, including the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"And I contributed a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.

In recent years, the band donated their prize money to the youth organization that developed their group, as well as other independent music bodies.

And 1994 winners the group gave their winnings to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was diagnosed the disease.

"Receiving the award was ample," said singer Heather Small. "The prize was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the cake. So our victory touched somebody else's life."

Recently, the MVT shared it had saved several small stages in that region, by placing them under community ownership.

The Joiners in that area and the second in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by a national body and supporters who acquire "ownership units" in the venues.