The artist has given the entirety of his £25,000 honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to save the United Kingdom's small live music spots.
Fender was presented with the cheque on 16 October as his new release his work was declared the top album of the previous year.
Fender has opted to give the cash to the trust, in recognition of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his initial steps.
"I couldn't be pursuing my current career if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was beginning," said the artist. "These spaces are iconic, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have shut down – roughly 16% of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help local stages.
He also joined in, raising over £100k on his live tour to assist thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.
The donation supported venues that were facing imminent closure due to challenges stemming from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and sound issues.
Some locations obtained monetary aid in modernizing facilities and gear that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.
"The idea that money from concerts in big venues helps the local stages, where it all starts for performers like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
He is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize funds to charitable organizations.
Back when they received the award in 1996 for their release Different Class, frontman Cocker stated that the group would contribute their prize money to the organization War Child.
That year, rapper and singer she split her award among several good causes, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I contributed a grand to Highgate Newtown, to their classes, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," she shared with a publication.
In recent years, they contributed their prize money to the youth organization that supported their group, alongside other local music groups.
Also 1994 winners the group contributed their winnings to a MS organization after a friend was found to have the condition.
"The victory was quite enough," remarked vocalist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the cherry, because we had the honor. So our victory affected somebody else's life."
Recently, the MVT shared it had saved several small stages in south-east England, by bringing them into community ownership.
One venue in the city and The Croft in the city were bought under the community ownership initiative, which is supported by the arts council and enthusiasts who purchase "stakes" in the venues.
