Pam Victor had exhausted every fundraising idea she could imagine to raise $115,000 for Happier Valley Comedy’s new theater, and after a year and a half of balancing this job with her other roles teaching, performing and running the improv comedy nonprofit, she was starting to wonder whether her dream theater would be a reality.

Last summer, the region’s only improv comedy theater was $70,000 away from their goal, which would unlock a matching $115,000 Cultural Facilities Fund Capital Grant previously awarded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Happier Valley Comedy needed to finish fundraising by the end of the year, but Victor, the nonprofit’s president and founder, had never raised more than $30,000 in 12 months, and the organization needed more than double that in half the time.

Victor had tearfully reported to the nonprofit’s board that the goal seemed impossible to reach when Happier Valley Comedy board member Sally Ekus asked if she could spearhead the last leg of fundraising.

“I said, ‘It’s not going to happen,’ ” Victor told Ekus, whom she describes as “Sally the Great.” “And she said, ‘You need to be positive!’ ”

Not only did Ekus raise the last $70,000, but now the nonprofit is in “spitting distance” from its final goal, according to Victor. By next fall, Happier Valley Comedy will celebrate a new 72-seat, fully-accessible theater at its 1 Mill Valley Road home. The theater will have raised audience seating, theatrical lighting and a larger stage. The project will double the improv company’s footprint, renovating their current space into a lobby classroom next door to their new theater.

“I started Happier Valley as an experiment in 2014 to see if I can make a living doing what I love,” Victor said. “It is mind blowing to know that we have succeed in raising $230,000 to expand and build our dream theater, thanks to our community of individuals and local companies that believe in the importance of maintaining a space in the Valley where laughter, joy, ease, connection and community are fostered.”

The new theater, designed by Thomas Douglas Architects in Northampton, is “improv-friendly,” which Victor attributes to the backstage area and a backwall with doors. These additions are simple, she said, but improves the illusions and professionalism of the improv performances. Right now, each of the improv performances occurs in an open space, so the audience can view all the actors standing on stage regardless if they’re currently in the scene. If an actor needs to enter from the other side of the stage, Victor said, they must walk into the audience and around the seating, which people can see.

“From a professional standpoint, it will just look cleaner because we’ll have a little bit more ability to make it more theoretical and to take different kinds of risks and make different kinds of moves,” Victor said.

A fully-accessible stage and accessible seating was critical to the new stage’s design. Victor said she always imagined Happier Valley Comedy as an inclusive space for people of all races, ethnicities, genders and body types, but the nonprofit started with a small budget and a dream. A decade later, Victor said the budget and community are big enough to finally create an accessible space.

“It’s in our mission to create a space of belonging and kindness and inclusivity,” Victor said. “Diversity is really important to us because improv benefits from people of diversities abilities, experiences and cultures. It’s the right thing to do and makes our community better.”

Victors adds that Happier Valley Comedy’s new space will help launch an all Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) improv performing group in 2025 and maintain the nonprofit’s BIPOC Playtime for youth of color that are interested in improv. The 14 classes that Happier Valley Comedy offers will continue in its current classroom space, although the classrooms will be renovated to be “more conducive to learning,” Victor said.

“We’re so excited to see the dream theater slowly move from our brains into the real world,” Artistic Director Scott Braidman said in a statement. “We’ll never underestimate our community again. The support has been overwhelming.”

In addition to individuals and arts nonprofits, donations from Pioneer Valley corporations were key to getting to the improv theater’s goal. Specifically, PeoplesBank, Diversity Equipment Services & Counciling Organization of Hadley and Greenfield Savings Bank were key donors in the campaign.

“Connecting with our donors to meet our fundraising goal has been a testament to the deep desire to spring more joy and laughter right now,” Ekus said in a statement.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.