The star has given the entirety of his £25k honor winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which operates to preserve the United Kingdom's grassroots concert spaces.
The star was awarded the prize on mid-October as his third album People Watching was chosen as the top album of the last 12 months.
Fender has chosen to hand the money over to the Music Venues Trust, in acknowledgment of the vital role small stages had in his early career.
"I wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the North East, and further afield, when I was just getting going," said the artist. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have shut down – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
In the last year, top acts such as the band Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its attempts to help venues survive, by adding a small levy to their admission fees, which benefits independent venues.
He also participated, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to support thirty-eight local spots across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The donation helped spaces that were facing imminent closure due to challenges stemming from floods, fire incidents and personal losses, as well as permit problems, legal disputes and sound issues.
Other venues were granted funding support in upgrading infrastructure and gear that helped artists and audiences.
"The notion that money from performances in large arenas helps the smaller venues, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," the star has stated.
He is not the first artist to donate his honor winnings to charitable organizations.
In they received the prize in 1996 for their album the album, lead singer Cocker stated that the group would give their prize money to the non-profit War Child.
During 2002, rapper and singer she divided her prize between several organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"And I gave a grand to my local community centre, to their gymnastics program, because I did gymnastics when I was younger and they needed updated gear," she explained to the media.
Two years ago, the band donated their winnings to the youth organization that supported their band, in addition to other independent music bodies.
Additionally 1994 winners they donated their winnings to a charity for MS after a friend was found to have the illness.
"Winning was quite enough," said vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our winning affected somebody else's life."
In the past week, the Music Venues Trust revealed it had saved a couple of local spots in that region, by bringing them into community ownership.
The first in the city and the second in Bristol were purchased under the public acquisition initiative, which is funded by the arts council and enthusiasts who purchase "shares" in the venues.
