Desk research against primary sources. Figures are traced to the issuing UAE authority and linked on the page.
Licensing is what separates a legitimate collection from a criminal one, and it attaches to the organisation, not to the cause — a genuinely good cause run through an unlicensed channel is still illegal, while the same cause run through UAE Red Crescent, Dubai Cares, or the Zakat Fund is not. Intent to help is not a factor the law considers.
This applies to informal online collections just as much as street collections, since the format of the appeal does not change the licensing requirement behind it — a crowdfunding page for an unregistered cause carries the same exposure as someone standing outside a mall with a collection tin. If you want to organise something rather than just give, the licensed route is to work through or under one of the registered charities rather than starting an independent campaign.