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The artist has donated the complete sum of his £25k Mercury Prize prize money to the MVT, which works to preserve the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.

The star was presented with the prize on 16 October as his new release his work was declared the outstanding release of the previous year.

Fender has decided to donate the funds to the trust, in appreciation of the crucial part small stages fulfilled in his early career.

"I would not have achieved what I am doing today if it weren't for all the gigs I did around the region, and further afield, when I was just getting going," remarked the artist. "These venues are iconic, but they are in difficulty."

Beginning in 2023, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, major artists like Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its attempts to keep the scene afloat, by adding a modest fee to their ticket prices, which supports independent venues.

He also took part, generating in excess of £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous local spots across the UK.

The donation assisted locations that were dealing with potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from floods, fires and bereavements, as well as licensing issues, court cases and sound issues.

Additional spaces obtained funding support in improving facilities and technical equipment that helped performers and fans.

"The idea that revenue from performances in large arenas helps the local stages, where it begins for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.

He is far from the only musician to contribute his award prize money to charitable organizations.

In Pulp earned the prize in the year 1996 for their record their work, frontman Cocker stated that the act would donate their winnings to the non-profit the charity.

In 2002, artist the artist shared her bounty across a few organizations, including the children's charity and a Sickle Cell organization.

"Additionally, I gave a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was a child and they required new equipment," she told outlets.

In recent years, they donated their winnings to the youth organization that developed their act, in addition to other grassroots music organisations.

And 1994 winners M People donated their award to a charity for MS after a acquaintance was identified with the condition.

"The victory was quite enough," remarked artist Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't need the extra, because we had the cake. So our victory impacted another person's life."

Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued two local spots in the South East, by placing them under community ownership.

The Joiners in that area and the other in the city were bought under the public acquisition scheme, which is backed by the arts council and enthusiasts who buy "shares" in the venues.