Learning Experiences

Nonprofit work isn't simply an endless effort to raise money (or distribute it wisely) and do good. It is also a continuing experience in learning — to solve problems, forge connections, acquire skills, and avoid burnout. The Chronicle's annual look at continuing education examines some of the ways in which charities and grant makers are pushing themselves forward in all of these areas.

• How the growing popularity of learning circles is helping nonprofit managers lean on one another for advice on untangling a host of governance, recruiting, and other issues they contend with day to day, and to learn more about the social concerns they seek to solve.

• Why grant makers, despite holding jobs many people in the nonprofit world envy, often feel isolated in their roles, and how training and uniform professional standards may help alleviate their frustrations and keep more program officers from leaving their posts.

• How American Humanics and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation have joined forces to give college students a leg up in entering the nonprofit work force — and help make charities more diverse in the process.

• Why a half-dozen grant makers are pouring money into an effort to support yoga, meditation, and other "contemplative practices" for stressed out, overworked nonprofit employees.