# Introduction to Sortes Sortes is positioned as a groundbreaking, non-profit, trustless social welfare system built on decentralized principles. \ \ It reimagines traditional lottery and charitable models by replacing centralized control with transparent, on-chain processes.\ \ Sortes aims to democratize social welfare by leveraging blockchain technology to create a fair and transparent lottery system. The system: * **Is non-profit and trustless:** All operations—from fund collection to prize distribution—are executed without a central authority. * **Empowers users:** Participants not only have a chance to win but also contribute directly to charitable causes. * **Is built on established blockchain protocols:** It uses Ethereum smart contracts and advanced cryptographic methods (like VRF/VDF) to ensure true randomness and fairness. “Sortes” means fate in ancient Rome. By building this, we hope that everyone can take hold of their own destiny. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://externality-labs.gitbook.io/externality-labs-docs/what-is-sortes/readme.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.