Engineered Tax Services CEO and National Ambassador move funding work out of closed rooms and into businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, and second-chance communities
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Julio Gonzalez and Charles “Duke” Tanner are done treating grant access like a private language. At Engineered Tax Services, they are building a public standard: if the funding was written into the system, it should be reachable by the people it was supposed to serve.
Gonzalez, Founder and CEO of ETS, built the firm in 2001 to take tax incentives, credits, and grant strategy out of the Fortune 500 lane and put them in front of operators who never had specialized counsel. Tanner, Vice President of Community Affairs & Outreach and National Ambassador, is the one walking that system into churches, reentry networks, small businesses, and community rooms that never got the briefing.
One designed the map.
The other refuses to let it stay on the desk.
The Case They Are Making
Gonzalez’s case is structural. Federal and state grants already exist for workforce, infrastructure, energy, entrepreneurship, and community development. The breakdown is not the absence of programs. It is the absence of a guide. Institutions have departments for this. Most businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities do not.
Tanner’s case is lived. An undefeated 19–0 boxer from Gary, Indiana, he lost more than sixteen years to a first non-violent case and two life sentences. After commutation and a full presidential pardon in May 2025, he turned the second chance into work around reentry, fatherhood, prison reform, public policy, and economic access. He is the author of Duke Got Life, works with the Jack Brewer Foundation, REFORM Alliance, and the Aleph Institute, and co-founded Legacy Impact Technologies and the Legacy Impact Foundation.
Together they are arguing that a second chance without capital is a speech. A grant system without outreach is a locked file.
Their work is focused on:
- Federal and state grant access for businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, and community organizations
- Pairing that funding with tax incentives, workforce pathways, and second-chance economic support
In Their Words
“I’ve always believed that people should be given the opportunity to show who they can become — not simply judged by where they’ve been,” said Julio Gonzalez. “Duke Tanner is a perfect example. When you invest in redemption, you don’t just change one life. You change countless others.”
“One opportunity can change a life,” said Charles “Duke” Tanner. “One life can change countless others. That’s why I believe in second chances. When you invest in redemption, you invest in the future.”
The Standard Now
Gonzalez attached the same standard to ETS Cares: show up, put hands to the work, and help the organizations already serving people every day. Tanner makes that standard travel. He does not ask a returning father, a church, or a small operator to decode the federal register alone. He brings the firm to them.
As ETS continues its national expansion through 26 offices and a record of more than $2 billion in client tax savings, Gonzalez and Tanner are measuring the partnership by deployment, not announcement. Who gets the grant. Which nonprofit stays open. Which city gets the funding. Which returning citizen gets a path.
Two leaders. Two histories. One standard. If grant opportunity only works for people who already know how to apply, the system is unfinished. They are trying to finish it.
About Julio Gonzalez
Julio Gonzalez is Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Engineered Tax Services and the force behind ETS Cares. He founded ETS in 2001 to bring engineering-based tax strategies and grant access to mainstream America.
About Charles “Duke” Tanner
Charles “Duke” Tanner is Vice President of Community Affairs & Outreach and National Ambassador for Engineered Tax Services. A former professional boxer with an undefeated 19–0 record and author of Duke Got Life, he advocates for second chances, economic empowerment, prison reform, public policy, reentry, and fatherhood.
About Engineered Tax Services
Engineered Tax Services is a national specialty tax and grant advisory firm headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Credits: The KR Media Group.
Media Contact
Company: Engineered Tax Services
(E) mail: info@engineeredtaxservices.com
Website: https://engineeredtaxservices.com
City: West Palm Beach
State: Florida
Country: USA
