Actually, it most likely was a professional fundraiser, and that’s exactly why he was so persistent. You don’t need to feel bad about telling those people no, because as others have said, the actual firefighters see little or none of that money.
gardentraveler’s method is, IMHO, the best. Especially since that’s my method, too.
I used to tell the solicitors to send me information in the mail and I would consider it in terms of my overall budget. I sometimes got an argument. Now I’ve shortened it to “We do not accept telephone solicitations of any kind. Please put this number on your do-not-call list.” If necessary I will repeat – once. I almost never get telephone solicitiations these days.
Remember, you do NOT have convince the caller of anything. You don’t have to give a reason. Just say no.