But by October 2016 the university had surpassed the original goal two years early. It counted in its total all money raised since July 2010, MSU President Waded Cruzado’s first year in office, and her first campaign to expand the Bobcat Stadium end zone, which raised $6 million.

Cruzado then suggested shooting for a new goal of $406 million, after Montana’s area code. Tuesday’s count showed MSU surpassed even that target.

“We at Montana State University are overcome with gratitude for the many, many supporters who invested in our university,” Cruzado said in a statement.

“These generous donors pushed our campaign beyond all expectations and are helping to create a vibrant, sustainable and successful future for our campus.”

The money is being used in three major areas — $130 million for people, $120 million for places and $164 million for programs. That includes scholarships and fellowships for students, tutoring, mentoring, internships and other programs, and helping MSU recruit and keep top faculty for teaching, research and outreach. It also means money for classrooms, labs and new teaching technologies.

The most visible use of donors’ money has been constructing new buildings — the $53 million Norm Asbjornson Hall, new home to the colleges of Engineering and Honors, and the $18.5 million Jake Jabs Hall, new home to the College of Business. MSU just raised $20 million, including $12 million from the Kendeda Fund, to build a long-sought American Indian Hall.

MSU is requesting the 2019 Legislature to support a bonding bill that asks the state to borrow $32 million to renovate 97-year-old Romney Hall to transform it into a building with classrooms for 1,000 students and support centers for writing, math and veterans. Asked why MSU doesn’t just use its private fundraising powers for Romney, Murray said the answer is simple.

“The campus has wants and needs, and donors have passions and interests,” he said. “Our job is to marry the two together,” as when MSU engineering alumnus Norm Asbjornson wanted to build MSU a modern engineering building and gave $50 million, its largest gift ever.

But Romney Hall, as a general campus building, “doesn’t have a constituency,” Murray said. Private donors want to contribute to advancing the university, through expanding scholarships, research and teaching, he said, and they look to see what the state is investing.

Murray testified last week at the Legislature in favor of the governor’s proposal to put up $5 million in state money over two years as matching funds to provide scholarships for needy college students. It’s a great idea, he said, because the state would double its money, and donors would double their money.

The Alumni Foundation reported that its campaign raised money from more than 41,000 people, including 11,000 first-time donors and 81 who gave $1 million or more.

Some of MSU’s major donations include: $4.2 million from the Haynes Foundation for scholarships; $3.5 million from Nancy Cameron for scholarships, a professor’s chair in animal and range sciences and a business professor; $6 million from Tim and Mary Barnard and $4 million from the late Bill Wurst for the South Campus Project; $8 million from Greg and Susan Gianforte for the Gianforte School of Computing and South Campus Project; and $3 million from Jabs for entrepreneurship programs.

“What really rocked our world is seeing so many people … who feel $1 invested in MSU is $1 well spent,” Murray said. “It’s a dream come true.”

Since 2010, MSU’s fall enrollment has grown by 25 percent from more than 13,500 to nearly 17,000 students, while degrees awarded each year grew by 37 percent.

Total endowed scholarships and fellowships have grown from $49 million to $100 million, a 104 percent increase. Scholarships awarded more than tripled from $1.8 million a year in 2010 to $6 million in 2018.