Joe and Jane Dalton's St. Charles-based firm, Pro Life Communications, is one of the fastest-growing players in a lucrative fund-raising field for charities and political groups.

People sign up for telephone or credit-card services through firms like Pro Life, which in turn gives a portion of its income or profits to designated causes.

And those donations are hefty. This year, Dalton says his firm is on track to give at least $3 million to participating anti-abortion groups -- more than 10 times the amount that his firm gave last year.

His estimate reflects Pro Life Communications' explosion in growth. A new telephone-rate plan has helped the company double its customers since January. "We have 18,000 to 20,000 customers," Dalton said Thursday.

Activists an all sides of the political spectrum -- from abortion-rights advocates like Planned Parenthood to environmental and business groups -- long have used similar approaches to raise money.

Dalton's operation is attracting lots of attention lately because of its growing list of high-profile clients, including the Christian Coalition, which recently announces its participation.

The attraction is the Daltons' promise to donate all of their net profits to groups that oppose abortion; most such firms give less.

The 2 million-member Christian Coalition could reap millions of dollars under the deal.

Dalton's firm will pay the group an initial $15, and pay the group an initial $15, and then $2 a month, for each member who signs up for the local telephone service. His firm also donates an average of 20 percent to 30 percent of the billed long-distance usage.

Dalton says more than 250 anti-abortion groups are participation under similar arrangements. They include Lutherans for Life, Priests for Life, Heartbeat International and various affiliates of National Right to Life, including the Missouri chapter.

Some other conservative groups, such as Concerned Women for America, use a separate Dalton corporation -- Freedomtelecom.org -- that offers identical telephone services. The name difference reflects some groups' focus on additional issues besides abortion, he said.

But Dalton emphasized that opposing abortion was his primary reason for starting the company.

"I'm proud to be known as an anti-abortion phone company," he said "I actually received a direct calling from the Lord, telling me to do this."

Dalton said that divine directive came in 1998, and included specific technical instructions on how to make the business work. At the time, Dalton, 39, was a sales manager for a seafood company.

The Daltons lease their service from SBC Communications, which is required by law to lease telephone lines to competitors. The Daltons then sell the service to their customers under various rate plans for long-distance and local service.

Joe Dalton released their newest rate plan -- for example, $55.99 a month in Missouri and $49.99 in Illinois for unlimited local and long-distance service -- for igniting the recent growth in their business.

The couple base their operations in a small office suite in St. Charles, and have only three employees. The firm contracts out most of its operations, including much of the sign-up, which is handled by various call centers around the country.