When the telephone rings at suppertime it may be a telemarketer. Or it may be a professional fund-raiser looking for money for a local police or sheriff’s organization. In recent days a small army of solicitors has begun canvassing the Island by telephone looking for donations.

At least two professional solicitors have been hired by Island charities to raise money for their causes. The Dukes County Sheriff’s Association has hired the Waltham-based All-Pro Productions, and the Tisbury Police Association has hired the Seekonk-based TCI America to raise money.

Both law enforcement groups raise money for student scholarships, gear for athletic teams and public safety equipment. And while the phone calls are an annual source of complaints and widespread suspicion, the charities say they are happy to have the help, largely because they lack the manpower to coordinate successful fund-raising campaigns on their own.

Both companies are legitimate and are registered with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office.

But their aggressive and in some cases misleading tactics are legendary. In a recent phone call to this reporter, one said he was raising money for the “Island kids.” When asked how much of the money goes back to the Island, he responded: “Almost all of it, minus a little overhead.”

In truth, the solicitors regularly give only a small portion of the money raised back to the organizations, keeping the lion’s share for themselves. A recent report from the attorney general’s office found the average solicitor keeps 65 per cent of the money raised and gives only 35 per cent back to the charity, sometimes keeping as much as 90 per cent.

As for All-Pro Productions and TCI, the attorney general’s report found that both companies regularly give back between 30 and 45 per cent to the charities for whom they solicit.

Bob Ogden, president of the sheriff’s association, said his group has hired All-Pro for the past 10 years, and the company has always been responsive to concerns and rectified problems quickly and efficiently. He has heard complaints over the years from Islanders who resent the telephone intrusion, but said mass phone calls are easily the most effective way to raise money.

“We’ve tried everything else, from mass mailings to doing phone solicitation ourselves. We were never able to see the same results as these companies,” he said.

Mr. Ogden said the company uses a sliding scale to determine how much is given back to the charity; last year the Sheriff’s Association received $30,000. While he understands why eyebrows go up upon learning that the solicitor keeps 70 per cent of the money raised, Mr. Ogden urged people to think about it from a different perspective.

“I know it looks lopsided at first. But we could never do what they do . . . they provide the people, they make the phone calls, they do the work. People can be assured that when they make a donation, a portion of that money goes directly toward an Island cause,” he said.

Professional solicitors have come under scrutiny across the state in recent years for questionable tactics.

Earlier this year Attorney General Martha Coakley filed two separate lawsuits against two charities and four professional solicitors for their alleged involvement in fund-raising campaigns that misled potential donors into believing their charities were benefiting local veterans and local law enforcement personnel.

The lawsuits allege the solicitors failed to disclose their status as professional fund-raisers paid by charitable organizations. The attorney general’s office is seeking restitution and civil penalties in both cases.

The attorney general also joined the Federal Trade Commission to support Operation False Charity, which is aimed at helping consumers recognize and avoid fraudulent solicitors who often pick support for veterans, police, firefighters and their families for their work.

“Given today’s economic climate, charitable organizations are already struggling to secure funding for their missions through donations,” Ms. Coakley said in a prepared statement. “Fraudulent solicitors not only take money away from legitimate organizations, but they also undermine the public’s confidence in legitimate charitable fund-raising.”

On the Vineyard the track record of the groups is not perfect. Ken Davey, head of the Oak Bluffs Firemen’s Civic Association, said his group stopped hiring TCI America to raise money several years ago after some people complained about harassing phone calls.

“It got a little out of control . . . they were calling up people at all hours trying to get money from them. It was too much, it was making us look bad. In the end we decided it wasn’t worth it,” Mr. Davey said.

New businesses are a favorite target. In recent weeks representatives for All-Pro Productions have visited town clerk offices in Edgartown, Tisbury and Oak Bluffs to obtain a list of new businesses.

In each case they left a name and contact number, but when the Gazette called two of the phone numbers the person on the other end said it was the wrong number and hung up. A phone call to the All-Pro Productions corporate office was answered by a man named Maurice who declined to give his last name.

The man said newspapers often unfairly vilify his company.

“When the newspapers come around and look to write salacious articles about us, it makes our job to raise money for the charities that much more difficult. We are not trying to rip anyone off, we are registered with the [attorney general’s] office and we hold all of our employees to a high standard. This is not an easy job, and you guys just make it harder . . . that’s all you guys care about: writing salacious articles,” he said.

Mr. Ogden said most solicitors, especially All Pro Productions, have changed for the better in recent years.

“You go back a decade and it was sort of the wild, wild west with these solicitors, they sort of did whatever they wanted. But now things are much more legitimate, there are rules that must be followed,” he said.

He also urged people to remember these companies help raise money for a good cause.

“We’ve given away scholarships, car seats to parents . . . just look at the ropes course across from the Mobil gas station [near the airport], all that was done with money raised by solicitors. I hope people understand that,” Mr. Ogden said.