In 1996 the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund established the Howard Chapnick Grant, to encourage and support leadership in fields ancillary to photojournalism, such as editing, research, education and management. The Grant was established to honor the memory of Howard Chapnick, and to acknowledge the value of his enormous contribution to photography. As president of the photo agency Black Star, Chapnick was responsible for making and maintaining a network of photographers around the world.