TAMPA, Fla. — Phase two of Hillsborough County's R3 Rapid Recovery and Assistance Program gets underway Monday with a $33 million pot of money for businesses still struggling financially as a result of the coronavirus.

Thousands of business owners are expected to apply.

During phase one, which wrapped up over the weekend, the county approved applications for more than 1,000 businesses in underserved pockets of the county.

Most of those businesses, the county says, were minority owned.

Phase two allows business across all of Hillsborough County to apply, which is why the pot of money is three times larger than what was offerend in the first phase.

The county's Director of Economic Development says there are three different assistance categories businesses can choose from, and the county has consultants on call to help business owners decide which category would work best for them.

"We are looking at helping people get employees re-hired.  Getting folks the safety requirements they need, the safety items they need.  And also just getting small businesses the working capital they need to get back and up and running," Lindsey Kimball said.

The county is encouraging business owners to register today for phase two of the R3 program.

Once they are logged on, business owners can navigate the website and read more about each funding category and watch a short video explaining the process.

The county will also be holding two Zoom business seminars today, one in English and one in Spanish, to help business owners better understand the assistance that is available.