The star has donated the full amount of his £25,000 honor prize money to the Music Venues Trust, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
He was presented with the cheque on October 16 as his latest record People Watching was declared the top album of the past year.
The musician has opted to donate the funds to the Music Venues Trust, in recognition of the vital role grassroots venues played in his early career.
"As an artist wouldn't be doing my current career if it hadn't been for all the performances I played around the region, and further afield, when I was beginning," said Fender. "These spaces are iconic, but they are struggling."
From early 2023 onward, at least 150 of these venues have permanently closed – approximately one-sixth of the total UK scene.
Over the past year, well-known musicians including Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by adding a modest fee to their ticket costs, which supports independent venues.
Fender also joined in, collecting over £100k on his recent tour to help numerous small stages across Britain.
The donation supported venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, blazes and personal losses, as well as permit problems, court cases and neighbor objections.
Some locations received monetary aid in upgrading amenities and gear that positively impacted musicians and audiences.
"The notion that revenue from performances in big venues helps the independent spots, where it begins for performers like me, is just common sense," Fender has commented.
He is not the first artist to give his honor funds to charitable organizations.
Back when the band earned the prize in 1996 for their record their work, frontman Jarvis Cocker declared that the group would donate their winnings to the non-profit War Child.
In 2002, artist she divided her prize among a few organizations, like the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.
"I also contributed a £1,000 to my local community centre, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked better apparatus," Ms Dynamite explained to a publication.
Two years ago, the band gave their winnings to the youth organization that nurtured their band, alongside other grassroots music organisations.
And the 1994 recipients the group contributed their winnings to a charity for MS after a close contact was identified with the disease.
"Winning was quite enough," remarked artist the singer. "The money was the bonus but we didn't need the cherry, because we had the cake. So our success impacted another person's life."
In the past week, the trust shared it had rescued several local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.
The Joiners in that area and the second in Bristol were bought under the public acquisition initiative, which is backed by Arts Council England and supporters who purchase "shares" in the properties.
