Overview: The Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: a Far-Infrared Survey with Herschel (KINGFISH) project was selected as a Herschel Open Time Key Programme in cycle 1 to provide the Herschel community with a comprehensive library of far-infrared imaging and spectral line maps of local galaxies and their principal infrared emitting components, all integrated with the extensive multi-wavelength dataset from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS). IPAC researchers are part of a large international collaboration that has jointly developed the KINGFISH imaging and spectroscopic survey which covers the full range of integrated properties and local interstellar medium (ISM) environments found in the local Universe for 61 nearby (d < 30 Mpc) galaxies. The broad goals of KINGFISH are to characterize the interstellar media of present-day galaxies, investigate the heating and cooling of their gaseous and dust components, and better understand the physical processes linking star formation to the ISM.