DFI announces Toronto gala for Manuel Fine scholarship fund

Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) educational trust has announced it will hold a fundraising dinner for the Manuel Fine Civil Engineering Scholarship Fund on Sept. 9, 2026. The event will take place at the Palais Royale Ballroom in Toronto. 

The fund awards scholarships to civil engineering students at Ontario universities. Since 2016, US$57,000 has been granted to 20 recipients. The fund awarded two US$4,000 scholarships in 2025. According to DFI, the money may be used for tuition, fees, books or educational living expenses. 

Shawna Munn, a professional engineer at Aecon, and the chair of the fundraising dinner, said the night will be full of music, food and a charity raffle in support of DFI’s work. “We are really excited to be hosting this gala in Toronto in support of the Manuel Fine Scholarship Fund,” she said. 

Manuel Fine, who the fund honours, spent 23 years with the Bermingham Group. He served as president of Berminghammer Corporation and vice-president of Bermingham Construction. He also was executive director of the Heavy Construction Association of Toronto and the Ontario Association of Foundation Specialists, which donated $25,000 each to create the scholarship in 2013. 

Applications for this year open in the fall.