Wisconsin Legislative Council
ACT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Prepared by: Tom Koss, Staff Attorney March 27, 2024
2023 Wisconsin Act 151
[2023 Assembly Bill 912]
Financial Statements of
Registered Charitable
Organizations
2023 WISCONSIN ACT 151
A charitable organization that wishes to solicit contributions in Wisconsin generally must register with
the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) and submit an annual report each year that it is
registered. As part of its initial registration and annual report, a charitable organization is generally
required to file a financial statement for its most recently completed fiscal year. A charitable
organization that has received contributions above certain dollar amounts is required to file a financial
statement that has been reviewed or audited by a certified public accountant.
2023 Wisconsin Act 151 makes the following changes related to a charitable organization’s requirement
to submit a financial statement as part of its application or annual report:
Increases the contribution threshold for filing a financial statement that has been reviewed by an
independent certified public account from between $300,000 and $500,000 in contributions in the
prior fiscal year to between $500,000 and $1 million in contributions.
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Increases the contribution threshold for filing an audited financial statement that includes the
opinion of an independent certified public accountant from more than $500,000 in contributions in
the prior fiscal year to more than $1 million in contributions.
Allows a charitable organization to apply for a waiver of the requirement to submit a financial
statement as part of its annual report, if the organization would otherwise be required to submit an
audited financial statement and its application includes documentation to support that its
contributions were less than $300,000 during each of the three past fiscal years and that during the
year for which the waiver is requested, the organization received one or more contributions from
one contributor that exceeded $700,000. Previously, these thresholds were $100,000 and
$400,000, respectively.
Effective date: March 23, 2024
Initial applicability: The changes relating to a financial statement as part of a charitable
organization’s application first apply to applications for registration received after the act’s effective
date. The changes relating to a financial statement as part of a charitable organization’s annual report
first apply with respect to a fiscal year that begins after the act’s effective date.
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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DFI may adjust the threshold amounts to account for inflation.