Properly resourced, public library foundations are positioned to serve as innovation engines. The Impact Committee establishes a formalized process enabling KCLS and its Foundation to move in sync. This process allows the library ecosystem as a whole to benefit from the flexibility of private funding to iterate and "fail forward," free up public funding to scale and operationalize what works, and ensure that decisions about programs, services and community outcomes remain with the library experts.

The Impact Committee's membership pulls from a broad range of expertise in business, community leadership and librarianship. Balancing an understanding of KCLS and its Foundation's missions with community needs/demographics, the Committee reviews proposals from KCLS staff and advises KCLS and its Foundation on the most effective use of private funding for maximum community impact and engagement. The Committee isn't prescriptive, instead asking staff to define success for each program/service and evaluate progress toward that goal.

With one full budget cycle complete (fiscal year 2017), it's clear that the Impact Committee has effectively created a de facto public-private partnership linking KCLS' deep community knowledge with the KCLS Foundation's fundraising expertise and the Committee members' broad experience. Already, this partnership has launched and garnered strong support for KCLS' most ambitious program initiative to date, and is entering year three of the KCLS Foundation's largest annual contributions to KCLS' direct programming costs.