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. He mentored numerous photographers and taught annual workshops at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. In 1994 he published the book Truth Needs No Ally: Inside Photojournalism, summarizing his decades of experience in the field working with photojournalists. Chapnick was a principal founder of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund. After his death in 1996, the Fund established a grant in his memory to encourage and support leadership in fields related to photojournalism.

For 2024, the amount of the Howard Chapnick Grant is $7,500. The grant may be used by a program to finance any of a range of qualified educational undertakings, which might include research, direct learning, online resources, publication, archives, exhibition, or social media dissemination. The recipient will be required to submit a final report at the end of the grant period. The Smith Fund will disperse $6,000 upon award of the grant and the balance of $1,500 upon submission of the final report.