Longtime leader of The Arc of Opportunity to retire
Photo I Courtesy of The Arc of Opportunity in North Central Massachusetts
Mary Heafy, president and CEO of The Arc of Opportunity in North Central Massachusetts
Sixteen years after joining The Arc of Opportunity in North Central Massachusetts as its president and CEO, Mary Heafy plans to retire from the Fitchburg-based nonprofit next year.
Throughout her tenure, Heafy has led The Arc through major fiscal and structural milestones that have changed the configuration of the organization, she said.
The Arc provides programs and services for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Today, the nonprofit supports 400 unique individuals, each receiving between one and five services, including in community-based day programs, residential programs, self-advocacy work, and job support services.
“I will continue to be an advocate for people with disabilities. It's been 50 years of my life,” Heafy said.
After assuming her roles at The Arc in 2009 during the Great Recession, Heafy was immediately tasked with raising the funds for and finishing the renovation of the organization's headquarters, a former Sears building in Fitchburg already ripped apart during a failed $2-million capital campaign.
The endeavor was projected to cost $4.5 million in total, but Heafy ended up finishing the job on time for $3.5 million.
“I knew I'd finished the capital campaign, and perhaps I would have moved on. But I was where I belonged, and there was still so much more to do,” said Heafy.
In 2012, Heafy facilitated the three-way merger of Matson Community Services, which did The Arc’s residential support, Arc Community Services, which did the day programs, and its umbrella organization Alliance for Resource Management.
Prior to the merger when Heafy joined The Arc, the organization had a budget of $7.5 million. Now, it operates with a $23 million budget, said Heafy. The nonprofit generated $20.12 million in revenue in fiscal 2024 and held $10.94 million in assets, according to nonprofit financial tracker GuideStar.
Leading the organization through COVID, Heafy was able to retain 100% of her nearly 300-person staff, who chose to stay with The Arc even while shutting down the nonprofit’s day program.
After securing a grant of $50,000, Heafy provided day program participants with tablets to continue receiving services through the pandemic and sent her day staff to work at the organization’s group homes.
It was a frightening time to The Arc employees, said Heafy.
The organization is facing another one of those today as the organization braces itself for the impacts of the President Donald Trump Administration’s Big Beautiful Bill, she said, as the new law cuts funding to nonprofits and the programs providing them with revenue, such as Medicaid and food assistance.
Under the law, Medicaid recipients will need to submit paperwork to redetermine their eligibility every six months, a task Heafy said is an unnecessary burden to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“What's going on federally is quite frightening to us,” she said. “We're going to spend a lot of time supporting people so that they meet those bureaucratic requirements.”
Changes like these at the federal level have in part impacted Heafy’s decision to retire.
Additionally, she turned 71 this past June and has a 2 year old grandchild she wants to spend more time with. She was elected in June to the Unitarian Universalist Association’s board of trustees.
“I look forward to that commitment. I do some volunteer things in my community; I'm not going to sit around twiddling my thumbs,” Heafy said.
The Arc has already assembled a five-person search committee to find Heafy’s successor, and the organization plans to announce the new hire after the new year.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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