The artist has given the entirety of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which works to save the United Kingdom's independent music venues.
He was presented with the prize on 16 October as his third album People Watching was declared the outstanding release of the past year.
He has opted to donate the funds to the trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages fulfilled in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing this success if it wasn't for all the shows I played around the area, and elsewhere, when I was starting out," remarked the artist. "These spaces are renowned, but they are struggling."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these locations have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the total UK scene.
In the last year, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by applying a minor surcharge to their ticket prices, which goes to help independent venues.
Fender also took part, generating more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to support numerous small stages across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The money supported venues that were facing possible closure due to difficulties arising from floods, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and sound issues.
Other venues obtained funding support in improving infrastructure and sound and lighting systems that positively impacted performers and fans.
"The notion that funds from shows in big venues backs the smaller venues, where it all starts for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has said.
Fender is far from the only musician to give his honor prize money to charitable organizations.
When the band won the trophy in the mid-90s for their release Different Class, frontman the singer declared that the group would donate their cash to the charity the charity.
That year, musician she shared her award between a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"And I gave a thousand pounds to my local community centre, to their classes, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite told the media.
Two years ago, they donated their prize money to the local youth club that developed their act, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.
Additionally winners that year the group gave their award to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was identified with the disease.
"The victory was quite enough," stated singer the singer. "The prize was the cherry on top but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our winning affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust announced it had rescued several grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to public stewardship.
One venue in the city and The Croft in the city were purchased under the Own Our Venues program, which is supported by Arts Council England and supporters who buy "ownership units" in the buildings.
