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The artist has handed over the entirety of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the trust for venues, which operates to protect the Britain's grassroots music venues.

The star was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his new release the album was named the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

He has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in recognition of the essential function grassroots venues had in his initial steps.

"As an artist couldn't be pursuing this success if it wasn't for all the shows I did around the region, and beyond, when I was starting out," remarked Fender. "These venues are iconic, but they are struggling."

From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these spaces have ceased operations – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.

Recently, top acts including the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its initiatives to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their admission fees, which supports independent venues.

He also joined in, raising over £100k on his 2024 arena tour to support 38 small stages across the UK.

The money supported locations that were facing imminent closure due to difficulties caused by water damage, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as licensing issues, court cases and noise complaints.

Other venues obtained monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that directly benefitted musicians and concertgoers.

"The concept that revenue from performances in large arenas backs the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just common sense," Fender has stated.

He is far from the only musician to give his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.

Back when Pulp received the trophy in the mid-90s for their record Different Class, frontman Jarvis Cocker stated that the band would give their cash to the charity War Child.

That year, rapper and singer she divided her bounty among a few charities, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell charity.

"I also donated a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," she explained to the media.

Two years ago, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the local youth club that developed their group, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.

Additionally the 1994 recipients the group donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was found to have the illness.

"The victory was sufficient," remarked singer the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't require the extra, because we had the honor. So our winning impacted another person's life."

In the past week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued two grassroots venues in the South East, by transferring them to public stewardship.

The first in the city and The Croft in Bristol were purchased under the community ownership program, which is backed by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "stakes" in the buildings.