This is a synthesis evaluation covering the international community’s funding of the relief response to the tsunami of December 2004. It is one of five similar thematic evaluations commissioned by the TsunamiEvaluation Coalition (TEC) which was setup to promote a sector-wide approach tothe evaluation of the tsunami response andto maximize learning. This synthesis is based on 30 evaluationreports covering bilateral donors, UNagencies, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, non-government organizations (NGOs), funding from the general public,and the local response in the tsunami-affected countries. The main objectiveswere to provide an overview of the funding of the response by the various actors, andto assess the appropriateness of theallocation of funds. This report covers onlythe funding of the tsunami response and notthe implementation of the response. The keymessage of this report is that the financialresponse to the tsunami, and the media and private response that gave rise to it, was quantitatively and qualitatively exceptional: 40 per cent (US$5.5 billion) of international resources for the tsunami came from the general public. It was theprivate response that meant that theinternational response was, for once,sufficient (together with substantial localresources) to cover both relief andreconstruction adequately. And it was theprivate response that made NGOs and theRed Cross Movement such important (andnumerous) actors.