Margaret Morton joins RSE's development push

The Royal Society of Edinburgh has appointed solicitor Margaret Morton as director of development, to support its strategic priorities and the expansion of its work nationally and globally.

An experienced fundraising leader, Ms Morton moves from the University of Glasgow where she was chief of staff at the College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences. She is also a trustee with community project funder Hub Community Foundation, and previously spent a decade with children’s charity Barnardo’s Scotland and social venture philanthropists Inspiring Scotland. Her experience has involved dealing with a diverse range of stakeholders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, in a variety of executive, non-executive and advisory roles.

Before moving into fundraising and business development, Margaret qualified and practised in law, working in commercial property. She remains a member of the Law Society of Scotland. 

Her newly created role at RSE will support the organisation in establish a new fundraising, income generation and funding diversification programme to help deliver its recently launched five-year strategic plan, as RSE Fellows work to tackle key societal challenges, focusing on climate change and sustainability; economic prosperity; and social cohesion and inclusion. 

RSE chief executive Professor Sarah Skerratt commented: “We are delighted to have Margaret join the team that supports the work of the Fellowship in delivering their strategic priorities over the coming years. As we look to the future, it is essential that we deliver a strong and comprehensive strategy to diversify our funding streams, identifying new income generation opportunities complementing funding we receive from the Scottish Funding Council and other sources, enabling the RSE to generate greater leverage and impact.

 “Margaret brings a wealth of business development experience to the organisation at a time when the RSE Fellowship is ambitious to grow its reach and impact across Scotland and beyond. I know that Margaret will make a lasting impact on the RSE’s work and ensure its primary mission of Knowledge made Useful will continue to flourish through her contributions.”