Lobbyists who are also professional fund-raisers or political consultants will have to disclose those activities.

Not surprisingly, they told us it's best left to professional fund-raisers.

It is hard to get people to turn out for Huntington's benefits, she learned from the society's professional fund-raisers.

Darnell and his staff decided to manage the event themselves this year rather than bring in professional fund-raisers.

But many professional fund-raisers say those days may be coming to an end.

There are now about 3,500 charities and 145 professional fund-raisers registered.

Instead, most states have taken smaller steps, like requiring professional fund-raisers to register and file financial reports.

But not every program gets its share of the largess, hospital executives and professional fund-raisers say.

He said the couple had met with professional fund-raisers who were "confident they can help us reach our goal."

"Many of these charities," he said, "are quite willing to pay plenty to professional fund-raisers, but they expect to get agencies for free."