(OSV News) -- As Catholics in the U.S. wrap up National Vocation Awareness Week Nov. 3-9, one of the world's largest Catholic fraternal organizations announced it has provided more than $100 million to date to those seeking religious life.

In a Nov. 8 media release, the Knights of Columbus said that its local councils -- which globally total over 16,800 -- have helped to donate more than $100 million directly to seminarians, postulants and novices.

That support is channeled through the Knights' Refund Support Vocations Program, which was launched in 1981 as vocations in North America began to decline.

Through RSVP, every $500 a local council provides to a seminarian or religious life aspirant is incentivized by a refund of $100 from the Knights' Supreme Council, up to $400 for $2,000 donated.

In addition, the local council must offer non-financial support through letters, personal visits to the seminary or religious residence, or invitations to attend council events.

The program works to form "strong and long-lasting bonds" to those seeking to dedicate their lives to the church, said the Knights.

Donations to RSVP hit an all-time high last year, with more than 2,700 local councils contributing $4.1 million, according to the Knights.

Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly noted that the Knights' own founder, Blessed Michael McGivney, "almost had to leave seminary after his father's death because of the financial strain facing his family."

The son of Irish immigrants, McGivney -- who was born in 1852 in Waterbury, Connecticut -- first had to leave school at the age of 13 to supplement his family's meager income by working in a brass factory. He eventually completed his education and enrolled in seminary classes at St. Mary's College in Montreal, but his formation was imperiled when his father died in 1873.

"Thankfully, the Bishop of Hartford stepped in and provided the necessary scholarship that allowed McGivney to continue his studies at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore," said Kelly. "Were it not for that crucial financial support, the Knights of Columbus would not exist."

With seminary formation averaging as much as $55,000 annually in some parts of the nation -- and with many seminarians and religious life aspirants pursuing their vocations after incurring student loans debt for undergraduate degrees -- initiatives such as RSVP have become increasingly vital.

Kelly noted that "RSVP and our other vocation scholarships are really our way of paying that forward, and supporting the next generation of priests and religious."

- - - Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @GinaJesseReina.