MSU will match every $2 donation with $1 from the anonymous donor’s gift, said Robert Groves, vice president for University Advancement, MSU’s fundraising branch.

“If you give us $20,000 under this program, we’ll put $10,000 with it and there’s your $30,000 to start a scholarship,” he said.

The possible $21 million that could result from the effort would generate more than $1 million every year in new scholarships, Groves said.

Rick Shipman, director of the MSU Office of Financial Aid, wrote in an e-mail he expects scholarships to range from $500 to several thousands of dollars for hundreds of students.

Hard economic times make it more difficult to find university money for scholarships, making this drive for donations important, said Robert Thomas, Director of Advancement Marketing & Communications for University Advancement.

Last year, MSU experienced a 20 percent decline in donations, but this challenge is not meant to make up for losses experienced in the past, Groves said.

“We are doing this because Michigan State needs to increase the funds available for students with financial need and the anonymous gift provided an excellent opportunity to create this challenge,” he said.

The decline in donations last year largely was due to the economy, Groves said.

“A number of things were working against us,” he said. “We hope a program like this … (causes) people to remember how important it is to support our students and support the university.”

Donations have experienced fluctuation this fall, but it’s too early in the year to tell whether they’ll increase or decrease overall, Groves said.

The Office of Financial Aid will determine the number of scholarships, who will receive them and the amount of each.

“We know that our office will be awarding the money once it is available,” said Val Meyers, associate director of the MSU Office of Financial Aid, in an e-mail.

“It will be awarded as need-based scholarships. We don’t know how many students will receive funds or how much will be available at first.”

MSU Trustee Faylene Owen said the challenge might make it easier for donors to help the university raise scholarship funds.

“It should be a good outcome because there’s a lot of people; their hearts are in the right place,” she said.

“This will make it a little easier for them.”

Groves said there is no way to predict how successful the challenge will be, but donors usually respond to this type of opportunity.

The challenge will run until the end of the year, or until the $7 million runs out, Groves said.