Sandbox

I know it's not a failing business in this sense but what is the accepted criteria?

I ask because I seek a little help with sections, categories and menu items for my site but I don't want to enrage the community by asking for something you believe should be paid for. The site will offer reviews of pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants, cafes, shops, health care, schools, car dealers, tradesmen and all manner of locally based products and services, submitted by locals for locals. There will be no advertising or professional submissions but I might go as far as inserting Google Adsense.

In fairness, the site might have potential to become a legitimate financial concern in the future but this is certainly not the goal and there are no plans to move in that direction.

So, does my site fall under the non-profit umbrella? It definitely won't be making a profit and it does benefit the local rural community...

Technically, a non-profit is basically an organization that does not return dividends to the owners/shareholders of that organization (like a business), and therefore are treated more kindly by the IRS and state and local governments for tax purposes. Kindly does not mean less strictly though; often we have to do more to prove that we do indeed qualify for non-profit status. Non-profits can (and should try to) make a 'profit', it's just how this profit is used that determines your status.
Your site sounds like a great non-profit idea, hopefully it will attract the support of your community. I wouldn't worry about non-profit status or business organization unless donations to your cause or sales of advertising start to really, really add up. I'm not a tax person, but I would warrant that you have several thousand dollars' worth of breathing room before you need to consider organizing. Up to that point, you can probably accept everything as 'gifts' to you for tax purposes, keeping the website in your name as well.
From what you describe, I could see you very quickly accepting paid advertising, and it would actually be pretty simple to organize as a sole proprietor, with the income and tax burden of the website flowing straight to you personally.
Sorry, that was kind of long-winded, but to answer your last question, I think your project definitely falls under non-profit for Joomla! forum purposes. Hope this helps!

A thousand thanks for taking the time and effort to reply. The reason I abandoned Xoops was the lack of response to noob questions (yes, I used search). Thankfully, I know someone who is kind and patient enough to help me with my first Joomla project.

Having worked considerably in the '3rd' sector and associated with the School for Social Entrepreneurs in London, I know what a non-profit, or not-for-profit organisation is in the the real sense and I was reasonably sure my project would fall within it's remit but whether the members of the Joomla community would see it that way was always another question. Given the time it was taking for a reply, I assumed rightly or wrongly, that it's scope did not fall within their remit for a non-profit and thus ignored the question.

Anyway, Rome wasn't built in a day and so my not particularly ambitious project will eventually be realised.

Thanks again for making the effort.