Jeanne Ager is considered a philanthropic fundraising icon by many who have worked with the 91-year-old Spokane native and entrepreneur.

Judy Rogers, retired senior director of planned giving at Gonzaga University, says Ager is a longtime friend and is the "vortex of all the real progress we've made in the nonprofit and in the planned-giving areas."

Ager co-owns Ager Consulting LLC along with her daughter, Jan Ager. The Spokane-based philanthropic consulting company opened in 1995 and works with nonprofits, foundations, and other entities to raise funds and develop strategies to maximize an organization's impact.

Jan Ager estimates her mother has been involved in helping to raise over $1 billion through fundraisers and endowment funds for dozens of organizations.

A stay-at-home mom in the 1970s, Jeanne Ager became interested in volunteerism and joined the Junior League of Spokane where she developed a talent for fundraising. Through Junior League of Spokane, Ager helped raise funds for Expo '74, which paved the way to additional professional opportunities.

"She was a legend," Rogers says of Ager. "She's the ultimate connector, and she loves to get to know people and connect people with (an organization's) mission and values. Not just professionals in the field, but people in other fields who she feels should know more about philanthropy and could get involved."

A few years after Expo '74, Ager returned to the workforce as the first executive director of the Greater Spokane Community Foundation, which was later rebranded as Innovia Foundation in 2018 after a series of name changes over the years.

Under Ager's 13-year tenure, the foundation's assets grew to $20 million from an initial grant of $350,000, she says. 

The foundation also generated 125 endowments valued at over $6.8 million for 180 charitable organizations through planned-giving commitments, according to her resume. 

"She raises money, of course, but she also raises awareness and involvement in a very positive way," says Rogers.

In Ager's nomination letter, her daughter Jan, says, "Her impact is not only measured in dollars raised but also in the strategic collaborations forged under her guidance. Her leadership style, marked by inclusivity and a deep respect for diverse perspectives, has created a culture of teamwork that goes beyond project successes to positively impact Spokane's community fabric."

She formed Ager Consulting in 1995 following a four-year stint as the development director at the Dominican Outreach Foundation, of Spokane. 

"I created the Transitional Living Center for homeless mothers and their children," recalls Ager of her time with the Dominican foundation.

The position was eventually eliminated when the nuns moved away from Spokane.

"A Dominican nun who had a Ph.D. said, 'You don't need to work for anybody. Go create your own business.' And I did it from the starting gate. I had a job right off the bat and never looked back."

Jan Ager adds, "Transitions is still around today."

Jeanne Ager's training, experience, and reputation as a philanthropic adviser gave her the opportunity to help create, influence, mentor, and serve on the boards of several entities, including the Washington State University Foundation, Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Foundation, Community Colleges of Spokane Foundation, and Morning Star Foundation, among others.

"Jeanne has made the biggest impact ... in a very businesslike and professional manner," says Rogers. "You have to bring your heart, your soul, your mind, and your acumen, and she has all those things and she's taught so many others the same."

Ager grew up on Spokane's South Hill near the intersection of 29th Avenue and Bernard Street. She credits her mother, Augusta LaLone, with inspiring her to work hard and to build up her community. LaLone also supported Ager's goal to play the piano, she says.

LaLone became a widow with six children to support when her husband died suddenly at age 35. LaLone went back to work and became the first female assistant manager of the Davenport Hotel, where her children spent a lot of time at in the 1940s and 1950s, says Ager.

"We got to see a lot of good entertainment when we were growing up, which was unusual. We knew Bing Crosby because he was mother's friend, and there were a lot of interesting personalities," she says. 

Ager recalls playing the piano in the hotel lobby to entertain soldiers returning home from World War II.

"I was 12 and wanted to play the piano very bad, but we had no piano. (Her mother) said 'I will buy you a piano if you take over running the household.' We were close siblings, we had an awful lot of laughs, and we were a team," says Ager. "As a family, we were quite resilient."

Ager attended Holy Names Academy high school, near Gonzaga University, in Spokane, and later graduated from Washington State University in 1955 as a music major with a minor in psychology.

She planned to pursue a career as a musical therapist, but changed her mind after she met and eventually married her late husband Richard Ager, a pharmacist, in 1956. Her eldest daughter, Julie Ann, was born a year later, followed by a son, Jeffrey, in 1959, and her youngest daughter, Jan, born in 1964.

Ager speaks highly of her time spent with the Junior League of Spokane, a nonprofit that works to advance women's leadership through volunteering and training.

"We had husbands that could support us on one income, and because of that, we did a lot of volunteer work because we had the time," Ager says. 

"We did a lot of volunteer work and board training," she adds. "(Innovia) was actually founded by the Junior League of Spokane by some of my best friends, Mary Heath and Elinor Magnuson. They did the research to create the foundation, which was the first public foundation in Spokane. It was pretty special I got hired by their board as the first executive."

Some people who know Ager say her eternal optimism is enduring and contagious considering how much of her life has been influenced by tragedy.

Ager's eldest daughter Julie Ann, a musician, died unexpectedly from complications of diabetes at 42 years old. Her husband, Richard Ager, died unexpectedly in March 2012 at age 81, and their son Dr. Jeffrey Ager, a radiologist, died shortly after his father, in 2013 at age 54.

Rogers says, "(Ager has) had some really tough times in her life, but you would never know it because she's so humble. People are better for having a relationship with her and being part of some of the many wonderful things she's done."

Outside of fundraising, Ager also is credited with helping to bring cable television to the city of Spokane in 1974 as part of her volunteer work with Junior League of Spokane. Ager successfully advocated for Cox Cable to become the city's cable provider, winning out over four other all-male competitive interests. 

"We went around to all the nonprofit groups and explained to them how cable television worked and what it would bring to Spokane," she says. "The reason why we got the franchise is because we promised educational channels. I think that was the biggest reason. That prompted our public television channels, like PBS."

In retirement, Ager—a longtime basketball enthusiast—still takes road trips with her best friends to follow and support her favorite teams, the Gonzaga's women's basketball team and the Eastern Washington University's men's basketball team.

"I'm a big fan of the sport. I played it in high school when nobody talked about it," she says. "We played intramurals against Marycliff High School and that was it."

Ager reconnected with the sport during Expo '74, when she was responsible for coordinating in-home hosts for famous visitors to the city, including the Russian basketball team.

Off the court, Ager says she enjoys staying informed about global and current events and contributing her time serving as a board member at Inland Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Foundation, the Downtown Central Lions Club, and Women Helping Women.

Rogers says Ager's friends have nicknamed themselves as the Development Divas. 

"We continue to collaborate and continue to brainstorm about ... what causes need some additional help or who would be a great fit for a nonprofit. We all try to stay together, and she's the hub keeping everybody talking and engaged."

"The real trick to this business is to encourage people to do something and feel really good about what they've done and feel good about themselves," adds Rogers. "And I've never seen anybody do it quite like Jeanne."