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Catherine Cecere was at home one night last week when she heard a knock on her door. Thinking it was someone she knew in her Town of Chevy Chase neighborhood, she opened the door, only to discover a problem.

Instead of a friend, the visitor was a member of a political issues campaign wanting to talk to her about health care reform. Although she and her husband have donated to charitable organizations such as the Sierra Club, Cecere was unsettled by the time of the day and the persistence of the young man with a clipboard who "just wouldn't stop talking," she said. Eventually, she closed the door, although she tried to be polite.

"I try to do it while I'm talking, not while they're talking," Cecere said.

The next night, another solicitor claiming to be from Amnesty International came to her door. This time, her husband told him from behind their closed door that they weren't interested.

The two incidents made her think about door-to-door solicitations, whether they be from salespeople, charities or nonprofit groups. Although the number of solicitors, particularly those from nonprofit and charitable groups, is difficult to track, Town of Chevy Chase Mayor Kathy Strom thinks they may rise toward the end of calendar year, when some organizations discover they are short on funds. Cecere, for one, prefers for there to be no solicitation in her neighborhood.

At the same time, salesmanship and community cash donations can be a big part of local budgets. Of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad's $1.3 million operating budget, about $800,000 has come from community donation drives, according to its chief Ned Sherburne, who sends out Rescue Squad members in uniform to various neighborhoods to hand out brochures and seek donations. Their drives, however, are over by Thanksgiving Day, since the group tries to take advantage of months when there are longer daylight hours.

Over the last few years, Sherburne said these members have also found door-to-door solicitations more difficult because of heightened fears about safety and home security.

"It really does keep people in contact with the community," Sherburne said of the Rescue Squad's fundraising.

In the town, commercial solicitors are required to apply for a permit, post a bond of $1,000, and only operate between 9 a.m. and sunset. These rules, however, do not apply to nonprofit, charitable and political organizations. Mayor Kathy Strom said these groups were exempted to comply with First Amendment concerns protecting political speech. She saw no need to further restrict or change hours when solicitors and vendors can operate.

"For those people who would like to have more restrictions, at least there is more of a personal alternative," Strom said, referring to signs or stickers telling solicitors not to contact them.

Town Manager Todd Hoffman said there has been no noticeable increase in the number of commercial solicitors seeking permits. In nearby Chevy Chase Village, solicitors can operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. except for Sundays, when they are banned, according to its ordinance on soliciting, and a county license is required before the village issues its own license to the vendor or solicitor.

Montgomery County's Department of Permitting Services requires permits for vendors, with door-to-door solicitors required to submit proof of their date of birth, their address, and a fee. The license provides a description and photo of the vendor or solicitor, along with any vehicle associated with the effort, and must be carried by solicitors and vendors at all times and must be presented on request.

Sean Dobson of the Progressive Maryland political advocacy group said his organization has encountered problems with some Montgomery County municipalities who have tried to stop the group from conducting membership and donation drives, although he declined to identify them specifically. Progressive Maryland uses a maximum of 35 canvassers.

"In this recession year, it's tough to find that up-front money," Dobson said. "We're just always looking for ways to improve our canvass and to expand it."

In July 2004, county police investigated door-to-door scams in Chevy Chase involving solicitors who said they were raising money for University of Maryland sports teams and a company called Ultimate Power Sales that supposedly would donate books to a hospital. A similar scam of people claiming to be raising money for sports teams and selling books for charity was investigated by police one year later in Chevy Chase and Kensington.

Town resident Ed Mahoney has a simple policy of not answering knocks on his door at night. But new restrictions on solicitors and campaigners could be very difficult to enforce, he argued.

"What you really need are people with good manners," Mahoney said.