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The artist has handed over the full amount of his £25k honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to preserve the Britain's small music venues.

Fender was given the cheque on 16 October as his third album the album was chosen as the top album of the last 12 months.

He has opted 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 wasn't for all the shows I performed around the region, and elsewhere, when I was just getting going," remarked the artist. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the total UK scene.

Over the past year, well-known musicians such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the trust in its initiatives to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which supports local stages.

He also participated, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help thirty-eight grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation assisted venues that were facing possible closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, fire incidents and family tragedies, as well as licensing issues, legal disputes and sound issues.

Some locations were granted monetary aid in upgrading infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and concertgoers.

"The idea that revenue from shows in major spaces supports the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," the star has stated.

The musician is not the first artist to give his Mercury Prize prize money to charitable organizations.

When they received the trophy in the mid-90s for their record their work, lead singer Cocker declared that the act would donate their cash to the organization the charity.

That year, artist Ms Dynamite shared her bounty between multiple charities, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.

"I also contributed a thousand pounds to the center, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was growing up and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told the media.

In recent years, Ezra Collective gave their funds to the community center that nurtured their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.

And the 1994 recipients M People contributed their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the illness.

"Winning was ample," said artist Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the bonus, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted somebody else's life."

In the past week, the MVT revealed it had protected a couple of local spots in the South East, by transferring them to community ownership.

The first in Southampton and the second in Bristol were bought under the community ownership scheme, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "ownership units" in the properties.