AOL Time Warner Inc. (AOL), Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) are combining their Internet and technology might to make giving online easier as people look to donate money and time following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

The three corporations are the primary financial backers for Network for Good, a Web site that was launched this week to help individuals engage in "one-stop" e-philanthropy and to assist nonprofit groups seeking donations or volunteers online.

The effort, which comes just before the holiday season, has been in the works for more than a year and has been launched just as giving is increasing, especially on the Internet.

"The goal here is for us to put rocket boosters behind the great activity happening out there on the Internet and for nonprofits," said David Eisner, senior vice president at AOL Time Warner Foundation. He noted that more than $100 million were raised online in the weeks following the attacks as many people sought ways to show their concern.

"The Internet allowed people to turn intention into action relatively quickly. We've seen the number of people engaged in philanthropy online increase dramatically," said Chris Sinton, president and chief executive of Network for Good.

The Internet came into its own in the aftermath of the attacks when getting through on the telephone was difficult and many people turned to e-mail and instant messaging to check on friends and family.

"If there's going to be a watershed point on the Internet, sadly it may well be Sept. 11 because the Internet was so powerful in people's lives during and after it," said Murray Gaylord, vice president of brand marketing at Yahoo. "The other thing everyone was surprised by at the time was that so many people came to the Internet and Yahoo to donate money."

As consumers have increased their online shopping as they gain experience and confidence, e-philanthropy has been seeing similar growth.

"It's another medium for the altruistic impulse," said David Johnston, a consultant at Hewitt & Johnston in Toronto, Canada.

"I think Sept. 11 has made some difference," he added. "There's a culture of legitimacy. The President (George W. Bush) mentioned a giving URL. That just legitimizes the medium. Sept. 11 gave people their first opportunity to test it out."

At a time when so many are opening their wallets, there have also been scams involving companies posing as non-profits. Network for Good participants said they hoped their effort would help alleviate concerns about such practices.

"It's an attempt to build a broad-based coalition of Internet companies to allow all the nonprofits some exposure on the Internet and allow consumers an opportunity to go to the Internet and find what they are looking for," Yahoo's Gaylord said. "It's all in one place (and you can) find whatever you are looking for and know it will be a legitimate organization."

Several other e-philanthropy efforts have come and gone, burning through a good deal of money, but Johnston said Network for Good had backers with deep pockets.

Network for Good would work well, he added, if it allowed donors to develop direct relationships with nonprofit organizations and not get in the way.

"These guys are the introduction (to e-giving), but then the relationship has to be between donor and organization," Johnston said.

When donors come to the site, they can determine what kind of nonprofit groups fit their criteria and then be linked directly to those organizations to donate time or money.

"We didn't want to be involved in something that didn't involve the client/end-user. One of the things about Network for Good is that no matter how many corporate partners we have, we have a commitment that 51 percent of the board will be nonprofit," said Midah Radpour, director of philanthropy at Cisco Systems.

The infrastructure created by Network for Good, such as the tools for nonprofits to use, would play a large part in its longevity, she added.

Yahoo will promote the effort through its sites. AOL Time Warner will now fold its own e-philanthropy portal, helping.org, into Network for Good and will promote it through its online service, as well as through its offline media, such as its cable networks and magazines.