Home-Start, which recruits volunteers to help families with young children deal with the challenges they face, said it will receive £897,000 in funding from the Big Lottery Fund to "create a more efficient and collaborative network" to support more families across the UK.
Across all four nations of the UK there are 269 local, independent Home-Starts, through which 16,000 volunteers support 30,000 families and 60,000 children.
The charity said the three-year grant will support Home-Starts to work collaboratively, through mergers and consortia, and help them develop new ways of securing funding and investment for their work with parents and children.
The National Lottery funding will be matched by an investment of £597,000 from Home-Start UK to develop the leadership of local Home-Starts, ensure they have the skills and experience to manage growth over the next three years, and to help them access high-quality and bespoke support to develop the best model of working in their community.
Meanwhile, best practice developed through the programme will be shared with other organisations across the charity sector.
Rob Parkinson, chief executive of Home-Start UK said: "Home-Start's work has never been more necessary, and our ambition is to build a modern and effective network which can help every family in need create a better future.
"We believe the best way to achieve this in a lasting way is a consolidation of the 260-strong federation into fewer, bigger and more sustainable Home-Starts.
"Home-Start's history is built on its community-focused approach to the support we provide, and this funding will be used to create a range of community-based solutions to ensure that we consolidate Home-Start activity across larger geographical areas without ever compromising our ethos, volunteer recruitment and our highly local approach to supporting families."
Joe Ferns, UK knowledge and portfolio director at the Big Lottery Fund said: "Home-Start plays an important role in supporting thousands of families across the UK.
"This new National Lottery funding will bring together local schemes to share knowledge and skills, building a more sustainable network and reaching the people and communities that can benefit most."
