Even by the standards of Ramadan generosity, the goal of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, was an ambitious one: to clothe a million needy children.
The fact that the funding target was met only a third of the way through the holy month and that donors went on to raise enough money to clothe three times as many children is a humbling testament to the philanthropic spirit of those in the UAE.
But that high-profile campaign tells only a tiny part of the story. This Ramadan seems in particular to have been characterised by generosity towards those less fortunate, and that has occurred at every level of society and involving people whose means ranged from massive to modest.
It is fitting that this holy month marked the launch of Zayed Day for Humanitarian Work, on the ninth anniversary on the Hijri calendar of the passing of the UAE's founding father. But one senses that the generosity of spirit and resources this year was coincidental rather than caused by the announcement of Zayed Day, although in future we fully expect it to prompt even greater philanthropy.
There is not enough space on this page to list all the charity projects that occurred this Ramadan. Singling a few out seems unfair but it helps to illustrate the point to mention Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Sheikh Zayed's widow, who donated $10m (Dh36.7m) to aid Syria's refugees.
The Adopt a Camp campaign provided substantial care packages to 5,000 labourers on Zayed Day, as it has since 2006. As impressive as the results for some of the UAE's least privileged workers was the support from the community, in which 10,000 people from all walks of life gave up their time to put the packages together and then distribute them.
Others are emulating the example of British expatriate Steven Mitchell, who is rowing 500km on a stationary rowing machine to raise money for a bone-marrow registry in the UAE. Yet more of the giving is anonymous and unheralded, with substantial donations to the UAE Red Crescent so it can continue its work in countries wracked by famine or conflict.
Newspapers are often full of bad news, of people displaying inhumanity and cruelty towards others. But the generosity on display this Ramadan shows there is another side to life and to the human spirit.
And with that, we wish all our readers Eid mubarak.
