A Ballarat-based committee was formed in 1998 to develop a memorial to Ballarat-born Sir Albert Coates. The Trust raised funds for a significant monument in Ballarat's Sturt St. All office bearers are voluntary.  The Trust has no salaried staff. 

The Trust sponsors a range of student scholarships at Federation University Australia and the University of Melbourne. In 2008 a new program of scholarships for the post-graduate training of rural emergency care nurses was introduced, organised in association with the Department of Health Victoria. Undergraduate scholarships were created at the Australian Catholic University in 2016 (nursing/paramedics) and at the University of Notre Dame in 2017 (medical). In 2019, a new scholarship at Deakin University's medical school was awarded for the first time.  From 2022, a new scholarship, funded by a bequest from the Leckie Family, is being offered through Grampians Health Services (Ballarat Base Hospital) to nurses for training in Special Care Nursery Clinical Nurse qualifications.

Since 2003, the Trust has presented Year 6 prizes at the Mount Pleasant Primary School, which Sir Albert attended from 1900 to 1906.  Students develop project presentations on the life and significance of Sir Albert Coates.

In association with the Federation University Australia an annual Albert Coates Oration is held, usually in October or November. A Lunch with Speaker function is usually held in April/May each year. The Trust sells a number of publications about Coates, as well as operating this website. These activities serve to help new generations learn something of the Albert Coates story.

The Albert Coates Memorial Trust acknowledges the generous support for its Rural Emergency Care Nursing and other scholarships through funds provided by the Australian Legion of Ex-Servicemen and Women. These funds are administered by the Victorian Veterans Council.