The artist has donated the full amount of his £25k award winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
Fender was awarded the prize on mid-October as his new release his work was chosen as the best record of the previous year.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the essential function local spots played in his beginning days.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for all the performances I did around the region, and elsewhere, when I was beginning," remarked Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are facing challenges."
Since the start of 2023, over 150 of these spaces have shut down – about one-sixth of the whole industry in the UK.
In the last year, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Sheeran have all aided the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to support the industry, by including a small levy to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
He also joined in, generating more than £100,000 on his live tour to help thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
These funds assisted venues that were confronting potential shutdown due to challenges stemming from flooding, fires and bereavements, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.
Some locations received funding support in modernizing facilities and technical equipment that positively impacted artists and concertgoers.
"The concept that funds from performances in big venues helps the local stages, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has said.
The musician is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.
In they earned the prize in 1996 for their album Different Class, frontman Cocker declared that the group would contribute their winnings to the organization War Child.
In 2002, rapper and singer she divided her award between multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a thousand pounds to Highgate Newtown, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," the artist explained to a publication.
In recent years, they contributed their prize money to the youth organization that developed their act, in addition to other local music groups.
Also winners that year M People donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the condition.
"Receiving the award was ample," said artist the singer. "The cash was the extra but we could do without the extra, because we had the main prize. So our victory impacted the lives of others."
Last week, the Music Venues Trust announced it had saved a couple of local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.
One venue in that area and the second in that location were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by a national body and supporters who acquire "stakes" in the venues.
