Tourism company VisitPittsburgh is offering $15,000 worth of marketing to four mid-sized cultural festivals or events planned between the end of spring through winter.
On Monday, applications for the Festivals & Cultural Events Fund (FCEF) opened, with new parameters surrounding the grant.
Derek Dawson, VisitPittsburgh’s vice president of Strategic Initiatives, said that the fund will focus on marketing support.
“The best way to do that is to leverage our existing marketing and advertising buys,” Dawson said.
The FCEF started in 2022 and serves as part of VisitPittsburgh’s 10-year Tourism Development Plan, which aims to scale mid-size events into major tourism drivers.
In 2024 and 2025 The International Festivals & Events Association included Pittsburgh on its list of World Festival & Event cities, alongside cities such as Dublin, Ireland; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and Kailua Village, Hawaii.
Since the grant’s inception, VisitPittsburgh has provided more than $300,000 to more than 40 events, Dawson said.
BikePGH’s annual charity ride PedalPGH and nonprofit Pittsburgh Irish Festival were both recipients of the grants in 2025 and reported significantly higher tourism numbers due to VisitPittsburgh’s marketing.
Last year $10,000 of the total grant for each recipient was awarded in cash and $5,000 was specific for marketing through the tourism company’s partnerships.
Both BikePGH Events Director Kéya Joseph and Pittsburgh Irish Festival Executive Director Mairin Petrone said their organizations used the 2025 grant’s cash primarily for marketing.
PedalPGH saw a 10% increase in riders from outside the Greater Pittsburgh region while nearly 40% of the Pittsburgh Irish Festival’s attendees were tourists.
Over the past 5-6 years, Joseph said the bike ride had plateaued in interest, but VisitPittsburgh’s grant sparked growth again by providing the money for television and streaming service advertisements.
“(PedalPGH) sold out our event for the first time having the dedicated funding,” Joseph said.
To apply for the grant the event must: be ticketed, have a minimum attendance of 3,500 people, take place in Allegheny County between May 1 and Dec. 31., have outlined plans to increase the draw tourist visitation and be a one-day event or take place on concurrent dates.
Applications for the festival and event grant close on March 23.
