The Delaware River Port Authority has contributed about $775,000 since 2004 to civic and social agencies, often to groups with close ties to DRPA board members and executives.
The money ultimately came from tolls and fares paid by the users of the agency's four Delaware River bridges and PATCO trains.
Many of the recipients were familiar charities such as the American Red Cross, the United Way, and the March of Dimes.
Others were less well-known, such as the Jazz Journeys Educational Institute (which received three payments totaling $15,000) and the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery (three payments totaling $7,500).
Even the Philadelphia Eagles ($1,500) and the University of Pennsylvania ($5,000) benefited from the DRPA's charity.
Its board last month voted to ban such charitable giving, as part of a series of new rules designed to change the agency's culture of patronage and political influence.
DRPA records show the biggest beneficiary of its "social and civic sponsorship fund" was the Philadelphia Tribune, which has received 13 payments totaling $59,180 since 2004. The publisher of the Tribune, Robert W. Bogle, has been a member of the DRPA board since 1996.
Bogle said the money had paid for advertisements in the newspaper, which targets a primarily African American audience. He said the Tribune does not receive charitable contributions, because it is not a nonprofit organization, and he said, "I'm not aware of any contributions."
Bogle said he abstained from voting on any measures that affected the Tribune and had not submitted any requests for money or had any "direct or indirect" contact with anyone at the DRPA on the Tribune's behalf.
"I'm very sensitive to that," Bogle said.
Another major recipient has been the Seamen's Church Institute, an ecumenical ministry that serves merchant sailors at Delaware River ports. It received 27 payments, more than any other group, totaling $19,300.
The DRPA's chief executive, John Matheussen, is a member of the Seamen's Church Institute board. He also is chairman of the board of the Battleship New Jersey, which has received 10 DRPA charitable donations totaling $12,800.
