(Sept. 28, 1941 – Nov. 30, 1999). Daniel Efroymson was a financier, lawyer, civic leader, philanthropist, and environmentalist. A graduate of Shortridge High School, he received a BA from Harvard University in 1963 and a JD from the George Washington University. He saw active duty as a pilot in the U.S. Navy from 1963-1969 and in the Navy Reserves from 1969-1973. Dan and his wife Lori had two children, Jeremy and Elissa. A third daughter, Rachel, died in childhood from cancer. Efroymson was a cofounder of the Indianapolis Chapter of the Leukemia Society.

Efroymson served as president, treasurer, and director of Real Silk Investments which evolved into a regulated investment company from the Real Silk Hosiery Mills, which his grandfather, Gustave Efroymson, had purchased in 1932.

Daniel Efroymson pioneered legislation in the early 1980s that created a public-private partnership to protect Indiana’s natural resources. He served on the boards of the Indiana Heritage Trust and Indiana Natural Resources Foundation. He was the national board chair of the Nature Conservancy (1996-1998) as well as a former chair and vice chair of the local chapter. The Nature Conservancy building in Indianapolis is named in honor of his family’s long philanthropic support of the organization.

In 1993, Efroymson led a 50-member committee that created a blueprint, “Vision Indianapolis Tomorrow,” for the 21st-century city. Like his father and grandfather, Efroymson served on the board of the Indianapolis Foundation (1988-1999). He was instrumental in the formation of the Central Indiana Community Foundation in 1997, with the partnership between the Indianapolis Foundation and the Legacy Fund of Hamilton County.

In 1998, Daniel, his wife Lori, and their family created a $90 million donor-advised fund, the Efroymson Family Fund (a fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation). The gift was among the largest in the country that year. From 1998-2016, the Efroymson Family Fund allocated $102,510,093 to nearly 600 organizations across Indiana. The fund targets a diverse range of issues including arts and culture, historic preservation, the environment. The fund also provides help to those in need.

Revised March 2021
 

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